One Little Matchmaker
by Kyokutou
Summary: Tsuzuki volunteers to take up a new partner without Hisoka's knowledge. This new partner is different from the rest and she's got a plan up her sleeve. HisokaxTsusuki TatsumixWatari perhaps It's slight, but it's thereish FINALLY UPDATED!
1. Chapter 1

bows This is my first YnM fic, but I've done some others. I want to be a published writer so I'd appreciate constructive criticism about my writing.

Pairings: HisokaxTsuzuki maybe: TatsumixWatari (not sure yet)

Disclaimer: I don't own Yami no Matsuei nor any of the characters save Motoko. cries Happy? I said it.

**Chapter 1**

"But . . . but . . . Hisoka! I haven't eaten for a whole ten minutes." Tsuzuki cried in puppy-mode as his partner attempted to read one of his books. He clutched the boy's arm and began tugging lightly at his sleeve. "Please, Hisoka! Can't we at least get something from the break room?" He pleaded annoyingly with his partner who looked to be at about the end of his patience. "Please, please, please, please." Tsuzuki continued with this tactic until he received a huge lump on his head when his partner snapped. "Wah! Hisoka's so mean!" Hisoka mumbled something along the lines of 'idiot'. Tsuzuki quickly snapped out of it before Hisoka returned to his book. "Now that you aren't busy we can go get something to eat." This earned a death glare from the boy. Tsuzuki whimpered slightly, but continued to beg. "Please, please. We won't take too long, I promise." Hisoka opened his mouth to say something when the door flew open and a seriously angry Tatsumi stood there. Tsuzuki hide behind his partner suddenly using him as a shield to protect himself from the fury that was Tatsumi.

"Tsuzuki!" The man let out an 'eep' before hiding himself further behind Hisoka who was staring at the angry secretary standing in the doorway. "When were you going to let me know about her!" Hisoka looked back at his partner wondering what he had done now. Tsuzuki whimpered slightly and returned the question to Tatsumi. Tatsumi glared at the man and the shadows around him began to move, forming what looked like a really angry aura. "Just when were you going to tell me about Narita-chan!" This little bit of information didn't help Hisoka with the answer, but Tsuzuki seemed to know exactly what he meant. The man pulled himself even more behind Hisoka and went back into puppy-mode. He hoped this would keep himself from being hit too hard. Hisoka seemed to sense he understood and turned to glare at him.

"I thought the Chief had already told you. Plus, I haven't even told Hisoka yet." At this Hisoka pulled himself free from Tsuzuki and joined Tatsumi in glaring murder towards the shinigami. "Please don't kill me. I was going to tell you after we ate something. I was hungry and I wasn't sure how to explain it without some food on my stomach." He whined out his explanation knowing it wouldn't do any good, but hoping despite that.

"Don't worry Tsuzuki-nii! I'll protect you!" A small girl dashed past both Hisoka and Tatsumi to hug the man's neck. She had long blond hair and looked like she could be no more than seven years old. "Tatsumi-san is always mean to you, but don't worry I'll protect you." The girl said proudly as she pushed herself lightly away from the man still sitting on the ground. When he looked down at the girl a look of recognition hit him and Hisoka felt a huge wave of happiness from the man as he swallowed the girl in his arms.

"Toko-chan! You're here! You made it!" He picked up the girl and whirled her around in circles. "Yay! Now we can have all the fun we want together." Hisoka raised an eyebrow and looked to Tatsumi for an explanation. The secretary standing next to him looked about ready to explode and even Hisoka knew he should back away. When Tatsumi was like this nothing good can come for those surrounding the target. "Lookie, Hisoka, Tatsumi! Toko-chan made it!" He stopped twirling and looked over at the two standing by the door. Hisoka was gradually inching away from the secretary who decided now was the perfect time to blow up. The shadows surrounding him suddenly flew at Tsuzuki who screamed and ran for cover. His cover, he decided, would be Hisoka who had to suddenly put up a force field to keep his self from being devoured by the shadows. The girl jumped out of Tsuzuki's arms and ran over to the secretary, throwing her arms around his legs.

"Tatsumi-san! It's been forever and you haven't changed a bit!" Her voice was full of happiness as she hugged the man. Apparently she squeezed too hard and forced him to lose his balance. This was something none of them had ever seen before, Tatsumi sitting on the floor with a small girl beaming up at him. "Miss me, Tatsumi-san?" He grumbled, pulled himself up, and left the three of them alone in the office. The girl beamed and looked back at the two of them. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Tsuzuki-nii? Who's this?" Her bright blue eyes looked up to Hisoka taking in everything about him. He tried to pull himself away from the gaze to avoid the rush of emotions he knew would come, but nothing came. A hand came down in his shoulder pulling himself away from this confusion.

"Hisoka, this is Narita Motoko. Motoko, this is Kurosaki Hisoka. Toko-chan's going to be our new partner." Hisoka's mouth fell open. "You see, her usual partner, Sakura, decided she was ready to move on leaving poor Toko-chan all by her self. I volunteered us to bring her into our happy little family. Hisoka glared at the man.

"You did this without even talking to me! And what the hell do you mean by little family!" Tsuzuki whimpered and went into puppy-mode.

"But Hisoka. She didn't have a partner and we could always use the extra help, plus we are a little family." The young boy rubbed his head as he felt a huge headache coming on. Motoko walked up to him and tugged lightly at the bottom of his shirt to get his attention. He looked down and found she had a huge smile on her face.

"It's very nice to meet you, Soka-chan!" Hisoka opened his mouth to protest the nickname when she brought up a finger. "Don't reprimand me about this. I'm about sixty years your senior. I may not look like it, but I could be your grandmother." She smiled as Hisoka's mouth fell open. Tsuzuki decided to pick up on the explanation from there, picking up the girl.

"See, Toko-chan died when she was seven, but that was about sixty years ago. She would be the same age as your grandparents if she was still alive." He smiled at the boy and he massaged his temples. "Toko-chan has been one of the best shinigami since she started working with us. Well, she would have to have been good to become a shinigami since she was so young when she died." The girl picked up from there.

"See, no one really wanted to make me a shinigami since I was little. They weren't sure I could handle it so I had to go through lots more tests and training than most. I passed so they had no choice, but to let me." Tsuzuki beamed at him.

"And here you thought you were the youngest shinigami." Hisoka glared at his partner and let out a sigh giving up the fight for now. His head was still reeling from the sudden flow of information and surprises. " We should leave. Konoe wanted to meet with us before we started this mission." Hisoka quickly left the room with Tsuzuki rushing behind him. He stormed into Konoe's office startling the head of the summons department.

"Hello, Hisoka." He said nervously. "Right on time, as always. Where's Tsuzuki?" The man asked. A confused look came over him when Hisoka huffed and folded his hands across his chest. A few seconds later Tsuzuki came in huffing, completely out of breath, and carrying a beaming Motoko. "Hello, Motoko-chan. I'm glad you found them. Did Tatsumi find you?" She nodded.

"Yep, but he's probably off sulking and taking solace in his account books." Konoe laughed and scratched the back of his head. "I knocked him down on his bum before he killed Tsuzuki-nii for not telling him. I think Soka-chan is mad about not being told as well." Hisoka huffed and glared at Tsuzuki who immediately took up his defense.

"Hey! I was going to tell him once we went out to get something to eat, but he fought with me for an hour and she got here before I got a chance to tell him." He pouted and sent a pleading look to Hisoka asking to forgive him. Motoko hugged his neck and beamed before jumping down on the floor.

"What's this whole thing about a mission? No one told me about a mission right when I got here." The way she held herself right then made her look much older than seven. Hisoka turned his attention to the chief while Tsuzuki was silently crying since Hisoka still hadn't forgiven him.

"It just came up this morning. You had already left when I tried to call you." Konoe said with a slightly nervous voice. "Anyway. There's been a serious spike in unexplained deaths in the Kyushu region and their souls haven't been appearing for trial. The only connection the victims seem to have is a hotel. Tsuzuki, you are a businessman who has adopted his younger brother and sister when your parents passed away. The three of you are spending Tsuzuki's vacation here." The three of them nod and walk out of the room after being dismissed. Motoko walked in between the two men with a huge smile on her face. She had taken Tsuzuki's hand in hers and clutched at Hisoka's sleeve.

"Ne, Soka-chan. What was your mother's maiden name?" Motoko suddenly asked out of the blue. This caused both Hisoka and Tsuzuki to jump. She looked up at Hisoka and tugged lightly at his sleeve. Her blue eyes full of confusion and a hint of something Hisoka couldn't quite grasp. He realized that he was only reading the emotions in her eyes. For some reason he could not pick up on her emotions with his empathy. It was slightly troubling.

"Never asked." He said a bit colder than he had intended. Mentioning his parents was something he always avoided. He pretty much avoided mentioning anything about his life completely.

"Why do you ask, Toko-chan?" Tsuzuki, well his emotions came flooding into him whether he liked it or not. Right now he was feeling confusion, curiosity, and a hint of sadness for Hisoka since his parents had been brought up. Hisoka glared at the man for his concern. He did not want to be treated like a child, especially not by Tsuzuki.

"It's nothing. Really." The girl said with a bright smile. She turned her head back to Hisoka with, if it was possible, an even brighter smile. "You can't be Soka-chan for this mission so now you're Nii-san." Her smile didn't fade at all when he glared at her. Tsuzuki took the time to notice that it wasn't the murderous glare that he usually received. It made him feel a bit warm to notice that Hisoka's cold nature wasn't completely dimmed out toward children. Tsuzuki could handle the murderous glares, but it was nice to see that they seemed to be reserved for him. He felt a slight tinge of happiness that he had something of Hisoka's all to himself. A sudden whack on the head pulled him back into reality to find said glare. Emerald eyes were shooting daggers at him as he rubbed his head.

"Itai! That hurt, Soka-chan!" The use of this nickname earned him another lump on his head. "You're so mean to me, Hisoka! I didn't do anything and you're hitting me. Help me, Toko-chan!" He morphed into puppy-mode and began crying. Hisoka rolled his eyes and looked away from the sight. Motoko smiled and gently pat his head.

"There, there, Tsuzuki-nii. It's alright." She said, still smiling. "Why don't we go get something to eat to make up for the pain?" Tsuzuki jumped up at the opportunity, wagging his puppy-tail. Hisoka groaned and covered his eyes. He was already regretting Tsuzuki's decision to bring in the new partner. "There's a really good sweets store we can go to." She smiled brightly and Hisoka suppressed another groan. Tsuzuki pouted slightly as he looked at the boy, knowing exactly what was bothering him.

"Toko-chan, Hisoka doesn't like sweets. I don't know what is wrong with him, but he doesn't." He had come out of puppy-mode, but was still whining. "We should go to a coffee shop. They've got sweets and Hisoka can get some tea or something like that." Hisoka was shocked by his partner's sudden change in mood. He usually plowed right ahead completely ignoring the boy's hatred of sweets and dragging him along behind him. Motoko looked up at Hisoka with a hint of curiosity before smiling.

"Don't worry! I know something that Nii-san would like." He raised an eyebrow at the girl questioning the validity of that statement. She had only met him about half an hour ago and she was claiming to know of some sweet that he would eat. His accusing look didn't faze her at all. "Tsuzuki-nii doesn't like it so you know that it can't be too sweet. Isn't that right, Tsuzuki-nii? You don't like white chocolate." At this, Tsuzuki wrinkled up his nose and stuck out his tongue.

"Bleh! That stuff is not chocolate!" This, somehow, struck Hisoka as funny. It took all his strength to suppress the chuckle. "You can't make Hisoka eat that stuff. It's so wrong." It seemed as though he was proclaiming white chocolate morally wrong. It intrigued Hisoka enough to where he was willing to try the substance, if just to see Tsuzuki writhe. They continued their trip to the shop as Tsuzuki went into a deep one-sided conversation about the 'evils' of white chocolate.

Nii-san - older brother

Tsuzki-nii – older brother Tsuzuki

-chan – honorific that's for familiarity usually used with small girls like Motoko

-san – honorific that shows a sense of respect.

That's it for the first chapter. Please let me know how it is. See, Motoko's only six so she's not going to steal any of the characters. Besides, I couldn't break up Tsuzuki and Hisoka. bows Thank you for taking the time to read my fic.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the second chapter. I'd really like to get some reviews. I may not have been up for long, but I would like to know what people think of my fic.

bows I apologize for the Japanese honorifics, but I've become quite attached to using them. There are some spoilers I'm sure, but I can't point them out individually. Please enjoy and review me.

Chapter 2

When they approached the shop Hisoka was hard-pressed to actually go in. He found his feet unwilling to actually walk through the door and into the store. Tsuzuki wasted no time rushing into the store and straight to a display of apple pies. Motoko gently tugged at Hisoka's sleeve, pulling him in after her. "Come on, Nii-san!" She said brightly as she pulled him over to a small display of chocolates. He felt her hand release his shirt as she reached over and brought up a box. "You really should try these. The fact that Tsuzuki-nii doesn't like them should prove they are worth trying for someone that doesn't like sweet things." He looked down at the box and let out a sigh of defeat as he took it from her hands. She smiled brightly before going over to a dispenser of gummi bears. Tsuzuki had already asked a clerk to give him a freshly baked apple pie. He had transformed into puppy-mode as the clerk held out the pie for him. Hisoka, sensing danger quickly went over and took the pie from the clerk. Tears gathered at the corner of Tsuzuki's eyes and he was still in puppy-mode.

"Hisoka! Give me my pie. You said we could have some sweets before we got to the hotel." Hisoka gave him his best death glare, even though he was in puppy-mode. He moved the pie over to the counter and set his box of white chocolate on top.

"You should behave more like your age, _Nii-san_." Hisoka said with all the anger he could muster as he forced the word 'nii-san' out of his mouth. "You are the older brother so start acting like one." His eyes turned even colder as Tsuzuki began to tug at his shirt. Motoko came over and reached up to set her bag of gummi bears onto the counter. The female clerk, the one who hadn't served Tsuzuki, smiled down at the girl.

"She is adorable. Is she your sister?" Her question was directed at Hisoka. He nodded shortly and returned to glaring at Tsuzuki. "You two look so much alike. You two must take after your mother and . . ." She turned her attention to the pleading Tsuzuki. "He must take after your father. It's hard to see him being the older brother. You seem to be the older." Her eyes smiled toward him. He picked up on her emotions and realized she thought he was cute and was trying to flirt with him. Motoko tugged at his sleeve and asked to be picked up. From the look in her eyes he could tell she was up to something so he complied. _It's only for the mission._ He told himself as he settled her onto his hip. The woman smiled at this display. The emotions radiating off of her and Tsuzuki were giving him a headache. Speaking of their forgotten partner, Hisoka looked over to see him forming white-knuckled fists as he smiled brightly at the clerk.

"Ne, you like Nii-san, don't you?" Motoko suddenly asked causing all of them to jump. The clerk's face went bright red and Hisoka's tinged a slight pink at something like that being stated so flatly about him. The clerk began to ramble as her face grew an even brighter red. "You can't have him, 'cause Nii-san is mine!" Suddenly Hisoka felt the girl hugging his neck protectively. Tsuzuki laughed out loud causing Hisoka to glare at him. Tsuzuki simply beamed back at the boy and pulled him into a hug.

"FAMILY HUG!" He said rather loudly and squeezed the life out of his 'brother'. Hisoka was ready to kill the both of them, but would wait until they least expected it, planning for a very slow and painful second death. "Isn't that so cute, Soka-chan? Toko-chan likes you!" It was on now. Hisoka used his free hand, the one not holding Motoko, to hit the man as hard as he could. After a few seconds of redness one could see a rather dark purple bruise begin to form on Tsuzuki's cheek. Hisoka had really hit him hard.

"Don't call me that!" Hisoka had lost control of his temper and there was no stopping it now. He took deep breaths to try to control it as he glared at his partner who was sitting on the floor nursing his face. The clerk watched in horror as the angry blond threw the estimated cost of the food on the counter, grabbed the purchases, and stormed out of the store. Motoko, in the process, had jumped free of Hisoka's arm to comfort Tsuzuki.

"Hisoka got mad at me again." Tsuzuki pouted as he watched his partner storm out of the store. The clerk's formerly red face was now pale and the male clerk's eyes were wide with shock. "He's scarier than any demon." Motoko lightly poked the bruise causing him to wince in pain. "Itai! That hurts, Toko-chan! Don't poke it." Tears came streaming down his face as he moved to protect his bruised face.

"We should hurry up and catch Nii-san. He's got the hotel reservations, money, and he has the directions to the hotel." She whispered so that the clerks couldn't hear her, though they were still in shock about Hisoka's blow up. Tsuzuki stood up quickly and moved out of the store with Motoko close at his heals. As they walked Tsuzuki found Hisoka in the crowd. Just as he was about to call out to the boy he noticed that his pace seemed to quicken suddenly.

"Hisoka!" Tsuzuki called out, trying to get the boy's attention. After calling out to the boy he noticed that his pace quickened once again. By now he was close to running. Noticing the quick pace, Tsuzuki scooped Motoko up into his arms and began to catch up to the boy. Hisoka seemed to purposely try to loose them by moving to as close to a run as he could get without attracting attention. Tsuzuki was too out of breath and was unable to shout out to the boy. It was extremely frustrating for the older shinigami. He first wanted to get the boy to forgive him for being an idiot, second he wanted to keep the boy from exerting too much energy, and third he knew that being in a crowd like this wasn't good for the boy's empathy. Hisoka only ever blew up like that when he hadn't been sleeping recently and his quick pace was beginning to worry Tsuzuki. Motoko seemed to hear these thoughts and wriggled out of Tsuzuki's arms. She dashed through the crowd quickly catching up to the boy since she could get through people's legs and into much tighter spaces than the two of them.

"Nii-san!" She cried out as she tackled his legs. Both of them fell to the ground, Hisoka falling face-first onto the sidewalk. He turned around to glare at his attacker when he saw her bright blue eyes. They were sparkling with tears forming at the corners. With this look on her face he couldn't bring himself to glare murder at her, but he still looked miffed. "Were you going to leave us?" She sniffed and looked up at him. The display had drawn all the eyes of the crowd toward them. Hisoka felt his face heat as a blush crept over his face. "You weren't right? You weren't trying to leave us, were you?" This had given Tsuzuki enough time to come stumbling over, breaking the circle of spectators surrounding them. He looked out of breath, but had a huge smile on his face nonetheless.

"Now, now, Toko-chan. We both know Hisoka was just angry with us. Let's hurry up and get to the hotel." The man's amethyst eyes sparkled as he looked at both of them even as he worked to catch his breath. "Man, Hisoka, you can walk really, really fast." Motoko beamed and let go of Hisoka's legs.

"Let's go together. 'Kay Nii-san?" She asked holding her hand out to Hisoka. Tsuzuki smiled and did the same, though Hisoka knew the gesture was to help him up off the ground. The entire crowd seemed to erupt in 'awe's and 'That's so sweet's. Hisoka's face flushed again and he begrudgingly took Tsuzuki's offer for help.  
"_It's only for the mission._" He thought to himself again. It was quickly becoming a motto for this mission. Hisoka didn't like that. He tried to pull his hand free from Tsuzuki's, but the man wouldn't let go. Motoko took hold of his sleeve and beamed up at him. "What exactly are you doing?" He glared at Tsuzuki and asked this with a voice that held a hint of venom in it. Tsuzuki simply beamed and squeezed the boy's hand.

"We don't want to lose you again so we're going to keep a tight hold on you." Hisoka felt his face flush again and he glared down at the ground. Tsuzuki's over-the-top happiness was flooding him mind once again. His head was throbbing again as the rest of the crowd turned and went on their way. Somehow his shields had been worn through and the crowd's emotions were filtering in pushing his own thoughts to the back of his mind. Without even hesitating, he wrenched his hands free of his partners' and covered his ears in an attempt to protect his self from the emotions. They had become too much and had shattered his already fragile shields. "Hisoka? What's wrong?" Tsusuki looked down at him concern flooding into Hisoka as he attempted to free his thoughts from the jumbled mass of emotions. "Hisoka?"

"Tsuzuki-nii, we have to get him out of the crowd." Motoko looked up at him with a serious face, one full of concern and urgency. Tsuzuki nodded and tried to usher the boy to an alley, but Hisoka couldn't take the physical contact and threw Tsuzuki back as soon as he made contact with him. "Tsuzuki-nii, you have to get him out of the crowd. His shield collapsed." That was all Motoko had to say before Tsuzuki picked up the boy and rushed over to the alley. Hisoka felt a pair of arms pick him up and flinched as he waited for the emotions, but nothing came. Tsuzuki had put up his strongest mental shield as he held the boy.

"Come on, Hisoka. Stay with me. We're going to get you to the hotel, just relax." Tsuzuki offered these comforting words and the emotions finally won out and Hisoka passed out. "Hisoka?" Panic filled him as he felt the boy go limp in his arms. Motoko came over and tugged at the back of Tsuzuki's coat.

"He just passed out. Let's get him to the hotel while he can't feel anything. It'll be much better for him to be in the hotel room when he tries to bring up his shields again." She explained to the man as they both looked at Hisoka. He looked at peace, but Tsuzuki knew better. The last time he had passed out from empathy overload had been with Tsubaki and he had had a horrible nightmare before he woke up. Tsuzuki was worried the same thing would happen again. Very carefully, he stood up. Motoko fished through Hisoka's pocket and found the directions to the hotel. She took a fistful of Tsuzuki's jacket and they made their way to the hotel.

bows Thank you for your time. Please, please give me feedback. Thank you.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you all so much for your support! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to get reviews from people.

I know that white chocolate may be too sweet for some people, but I'm basing it off of a different form of sweet. There is a candy sweet and a pastry sweet. One can like one type and not the other (I'm an example of that).

Please enjoy.

Chapter 3

Motoko used the card key to open the door and Tsuzuki walked in carrying the unconscious Hisoka. His eyes had just started to move under his eyelid and Tsuzuki recognized that he was dreaming. He hoped that it was a better dream that his usual ones. As carefully as he could Tsuzuki set the empathy on the nearest bed. He took off the boy's shoes and jacket then gently tucked him under the covers. Motoko came over and sat on the bed next to Tsuzuki. She set a comforting hand on his knee. "He'll be alright, Tsuzuki-nii. Let's let him get some rest. We can start on the case tomorrow."

"He'll get really upset that we put a halt to it because of this." His voice sounded far away and he gave Motoko a sad smile. "But I don't think I could concentrate until he woke up." She smiled and looked down at their sleeping partner. "I knew he wasn't sleeping well recently. I should have insisted that he get some rest before we started this mission. That crowd would push his shields to the limits. I should have seen that before and done something." Tsuzuki started on his long guilt trip. Motoko looked down at Hisoka before turning up to Tsuzuki with a bright smile on her face.

"He's lucky that he's got someone who cares about him like you do. You really should tell him how you feel." Her eyes returned to a slightly nervous Tsuzuki. He tried to come up with an explanation, but finally gave up with a sigh.

"How is it that I can't hide anything from you and Hisoka?" Very carefully he brushed a few hairs away from the boy's closed eyes. "If I tell him it would scare him and then he'll leave me. I couldn't take that so I won't say a word. As long as he stays with here with me I'll be content." He gave her another weak smile. "Hisoka can't get anything from behind my shields so that's where it stays. How come you know?"

"It's hard not to know with the way you act. Hisoka's just a bit unsure when it comes to normal relationships so he wouldn't see it, but I'm sure everyone knows that's seen you two together." She smiled. "You also can't keep me out of your shields. I am the one who taught you how to form mental shields." Her gaze returned to Hisoka with a worried look on her face. "He's having a nightmare." Tsuzuki set a hand on his shoulder as Hisoka began to squirm and whimper in his sleep.

"Hisoka. Wake up. It's only a nightmare." He gently shook the boy's shoulders in an attempt to wake him. He knew now that the nightmare were what was keeping his partner from sleeping. He continued shaking, praying he could help him in any way. Hisoka curled into a ball and Tsuzuki saw small tears forming at the corner of his eyes. "Hisoka, it's only a dream. Come on. Wake up." Tsuzuki used both hands to shake him lightly. A few seconds later Hisoka's emerald eyes flew open and a look of panic took over his face. Tsuzuki felt a slight hint of relief as he saw him wake up, but worry soon took over when he saw the unshed tears being forced back by his partner.

"Tsu . . . Tsuzuki?" The panic turned to confusion and then returned to Hisoka's usually cold emotionless eyes the tears long forced down. Without any warning Tsuzuki pulled the young empathy into a huge hug. "Tsu-Tsuzuki!" The exclamation was muffled as Tsuzuki had pulled his head into his shoulder. Right now, he didn't care about anything. He just wanted to comfort Hisoka and let him know that he was there for him.

"I was so worried! Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Hisoka felt a painfully large wave of relief from the man. He tried to shove him away, but Tsuzuki's hold was too tight.

"Tsuzuki, let go!" He didn't seem to hear the order, but he did hear the small whimper that slipped from the boy in his arms. Hisoka's eyes were squeezed shut and he was clutching his arms in an attempt to close himself off from the flood of emotions. Suddenly Tsuzuki released the boy and gave him a concerned look. "You emotions are too strong." He explained as he held his head trying and failing to bring up his shields.

"Tsuzuki-nii put your shields up. Nii-san's are still weak and your relief is so strong that it's hurting him." Motoko said gently as she moved past him to check on Hisoka. "Are you alright now, Nii-san?" Hisoka tried to sit up to prove he was alright, but both Tsuzuki and Motoko pushed him back down. "You need rest to regenerate your shields."  
"And I know that you haven't been sleeping well recently. We'll wait until tomorrow to start the case." Hisoka narrowed his eyes at Tsuzuki. "What?" Guilt built up as he saw that the anger was directed at him, but Tsuzuki kept it behind his shield and returned to his usual childish mannerisms.

""You're just using me as an excuse to be lazy." Motoko laughed as Tsuzuki went into puppy-mode and began to cry.

"Hisoka's being mean even though I was worried and carried him all the way here." A small blush crept up onto Hisoka's face and he turned away from them. "Ah! Our food!" Tsuzuki quickly recovered and rushed off to get the bag of food Motoko had set in the kitchen. Hisoka sweatdropped and Motoko smiled.

"He was really worried about you." The serious tone from the small girl caught. Hisoka off-guard. "I suggested we not start the case until tomorrow earlier, but he said you would get upset. Though . . ." She trailed off to consider something before moving on with a small smile. "He decided to because he knew that he wouldn't concentrate until you were up." Hisoka stared at her with a small blush on his face. He opened his mouth and that was when Tsuzuki came in. A box of white chocolate was dropped onto his lap by an eager Tsuzuki.

"Go on, Hisoka." Tsuzuki said with a smile and a forkful of apple pie. "Toko-chan's usually right about people." This time Motoko smiled with a mouthful of gummi bears. Hesitantly, he opened the box and held up a piece. There was complete silence as he popped the piece into his mouth and began to chew. They waited as he swallowed.

"It's . . ." The two of them beamed closer making the boy nervous. "It's not disgusting." He mumbled it with a small blush on his face, but they heard it. Tsuzuki burst with joy.

"There is a sweet he likes!" He celebrated by stuffing his face with the forkful of pie. Motoko smiled as she bit the head off of another gummi bear. Hisoka glared at Tsuzuki as he quickly inhaled the apple pie in front of him. "What? What did I do this time?" He asked, going into puppy-mode again. Motoko smiled brightly and let out a small laugh.

"I'm going to go watch some TV." She stated as she jumped off the bed, the bag of gummi bears still in her hand. "Nii-san needs his rest, so he's going to stay in bed. Tsuzuki-nii is going to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get up." With that, she walked out of the room and closed the door. Hisoka's eyes stayed on the door as he tried to figure out exactly what was going on. To him, Motoko seemed like a very strange girl, ignoring the fact that she was a sixty-year-old six-year-old.

"Toko-chan is an interesting person, isn't she?" Hisoka only nodded, turning to look down at the bed with an indifferent look on his face. Tsuzuki smiled at the sense of normalcy that had come back. "You know, she has some powers of her own." Hisoka's eyebrows shot up, but that was the only sign that he was interested in what had been said. It was fortunate that Tsuzuki could fluently interpret Hisoka and he caught the gesture. "Apparently, she is a rather strong telepath with a small ability to read emotions. I've never seen her use it 'cause she usually keeps it hidden under some of the best mental shields."

"I can't read anything from her." The comment surprised Tsuzuki, but he didn't let it show. He gave his partner a small smile even though he wasn't looking at the older shingami. "Whenever I touch her there is a void there. It's a lot like Tatsumi, however with him I can at least get a small feeling of him being there. With her, there is nothing."

"She's the best at creating mental shields. Since she was so young when she died, she actually has close to no control over her powers. Those shields keep everyone's thoughts from slamming her brain, not just keeping her emotions out of you." Tsuzuki picked at a thread from the sheet. "When she was going through her training to become a shinigami, they made sure she could put up the proper mental shields. I remember that when she taught me she laughed at how her trainer would get frustrated with her because she just couldn't get it. She said that I caught on rather quickly." Hisoka was about to comment when the door flew open.

"You'll never guess what I figured out!" Motoko said as she jumped up onto the bed holding up the case file. "You'll be so proud of me, Tsuzuki-nii! I just found out something really good!"

That's it for right now. Please continue to review. bows Thank you for taking the time to read my fic. Please come again.


	4. Chapter 4

bows Thank you all for your support. Reviews keep me fueled. It may take a while to come out with the next chapter because writers block is starting to sit in and midterms are coming up for me. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible. For now, enjoy this next one.

Tatsumi was sitting in his office working on the mountain of paperwork sitting in his office when he heard a rather loud BOOM come from down the hall. It didn't take more than a few seconds to register exactly what it had been. With a sigh, he pushed his chair away from his desk and stood up. He really didn't want to see what that man had done again, but he had to at least see how much it was going to cost him. As he made his way down the hallway he saw a smoking figure crumpled on the ground. He seemed to be staring into Watari's now smoking office. "Don't tell me." Tatsumi said with a sigh. "Another experiment blew up." The smoking figure looked up at him and confirmed his thoughts. It was a pile of smoking Watari. His hair was slightly burnt and his clothing was burning in patches. Tatsumi quickly brought the blond to his feet and extinguished the small fires. "Tell me, do you have a wish for a second death?" Tatsumi asked, a tinge of concern coming out. He bit back another comment hoping to keep it from surfacing again. Watari blinked for a few seconds before jumping to action.

"I'm really sorry 'bout this Tatsumi! I swear I was real careful this time! I did tons of research and calculations and even tested it on a smaller scale before I tried to make a flask." He said with wide eyes, trying to pull the sympathy card that Tsuzuki was always able to get away with. Watari just didn't have the skill and he knew it, but that didn't stop him from trying. "I'll clean it up right away. I promise." Tatsumi's eyes narrowed, though he was a bit relieved that the man was unharmed.

"Watari-san, if my calculations are correct, that is the third explosion this week." Watari nodded meekly, still trying the sympathy. "And if memory serves me correctly we have an agreement that requires you to pay a penalty if you reach three explosions in a one week span." Again another meek nod. He was still trying the sympathy, although his pitiful look was becoming more and more desperate.

"Please, Tatsumi. I swear, I was really, really careful this time." His lip began to quiver and a tears formed at the corner of his eyes. "I don't know what happened. I'll clean it up, I'll take a pay cut, I'll do anything, but that. I'm begging you Tatsumi." Tatsumi gave him a serious look that told him that he wasn't going to fall for it.

"There is no weaseling out of this, Watari-san. We made a deal. I would increase your budget if you decreased the amount of explosions. If your number hits three explosions in one week then you must help me with my paperwork for the rest of the week." His lips twitched into a slightly sadistic smile. Watari continued with his pleading efforts, though he had a look of defeat about him. "I'll expect you in my office the minute you finish cleaning up here." Tatsumi turned around and calmly walked down the hall.

"Tatsumi is being incredibly mean, isn't he 003?" Watari looked up to the bird that had flown out of his office. The bird settled on his head with an indignant sound. She seemed to be defending the stoic secretary. "Are you against me, as well?" Watari let out a sigh and stood up. "I guess we should get to work." While Watari went to work cleaning the lab, Tatsumi had returned to his office with a slight sense of triumph in his step. When he had originally made the deal he knew that Watari would be unable to make his part of the bargain and he had really needed an extra person working on the paperwork. By some miracle Tatsumi had yet to figure out, Hisoka had managed to get Tsuzuki to catch up with about half of his backlog of paperwork. This meant that he had close to five times the amount of paperwork than he usually had. He let out a sigh as he settled into his chair. The paperwork was piled around him in huge stacks. Tatsumi wouldn't usually enlist help even with larger amounts of paperwork, but with Tsuzuki's paperwork he had to spend twice the amount of time he normally took because of the man's close to illegible handwriting. If he was feeling especially distracted the handwriting was so impossible it would take him three times that. He engrossed himself in the paperwork as he waited for his help.

"Happy in your little fort there, oh great secretary of Meifu?" The voice was unmistakably Watari. Not only was his voice unique, but he was probably the only one who would say something like that without fear of his wrath. He looked up from his paperwork to see the scientist standing in the doorway with his owl sitting on top of his head. "Good lord, man. What happened here? Did you get behind in your work or something?" Tatsumi glared at the blond as he pranced into the room.

"Kurosaki-kun managed to get Tsuzuki to catch up with some of his paperwork." Watari's eyes widened as he looked at the 'fort' of paperwork. "You thought I was just being sadistic when I recruited your help, didn't you?" He raised an eyebrow slowly as he asked the question. Watari simply nodded his head, 003 squawking as she nipped at her owners hair. Tatsumi raised an eyebrow at the owl's reaction. He had seen her deal with a much more enthusiastic nod before. Watari reached up and set her onto a stable pile of paperwork.

"It seems she's taken to defending you. 003 really likes you Tatsumi. I sometimes think she's got a crush on our great secretary." Watari was beaming now and he had returned to his usual bubbly nature. Tatsumi eyed both the scientist and his owl.

"I didn't bring you in here to inform my of your bird's infatuation." 003 hopped up and flew to land on Tatsumi's head. She seemed to nest there in his hair as he returned to the file sitting on his desk. After a few seconds of silence Tatsumi looked up to find the scientist simply staring at him with a strange look on his face. "Watari-san, the pile sitting right in front of you is probably the most legible of the files I have. Why don't you start on those?" Watari blinked for a few nanoseconds then jumped into gear and picked up the pile. He then searched for a place to start working.

"Tatsumi, didn't you have a spare desk sitting in here that I could use?" The secretary pointed over to the corner of the room without even looking up from his file. Watari followed the direction and found the desk covered in a mountain of other paperwork that had yet to be completed. He let out a sigh and made himself his own little fort of paperwork. When he opened the first file he gaped at the writing. "How in the world can you read this, Tatsumi?" He whirled around in his chair to look at the secretary who was steadily reading the file. "Tatsumi?" The trance that he seemed to be in was beginning to worry so Watari stood up and carefully made his way over to the secretary's desk. He looked over his shoulder and his mouth fell completely open. Without even thinking he swooped down and grabbed the file to bring it closer to his face.

"Watari-san, what do you think you are doing?" His eyes narrowed as he turned around to face the scientist. The tone was the icy anger that was known throughout Meifu was directed to the scientist.

"How in the world can you read any of this! I can't even read your supposed 'legible' pile." His eyes were still running over the scribbles that were supposedly a file. "Good lord, man. Why in the world do you even encourage him to do the paperwork?" Watari finally looked at the secretary and jumped back a few steps. His eyes were narrowed and the shadows were beginning to shift uneasily around him. "You're really on edge, aren't you? Why don't you take a break for a few minutes?" Tatsumi immediately snatched the file back from Watari and settled back into reading it.

"I am just fine, Watari-san. If you are unable to read the file, then move on to another one that you can read." It was all he had to say on the matter as his complete attention turned to the file in front of him. His brow furrowed in concentration. Watari watched with concern radiating from him. "Watari-san." The warning was calm and carefully drawn out. "If you are unable to read Tsuzuki's handwriting then you may look through the other reports from Kurosaki-kun and the others." He said pointing to a much smaller pile sitting all by itself. With a defeated sigh he picked up the pile and began to work.

It's my beginning of the TatsumixWatari pairing I promised. Please continue to review and don't hesitate to give me suggestions.


	5. Chapter 5

"You'll be so proud of me, Tsuzuki-nii. I found something good!" Motoko exclaimed as she held out the file. She pointed to a spot on the information sheet for the first murder. "Lookie, right here. It's the same room number as we have. I was looking at all of the victims' information and found that they all stayed here in this room." Hisoka rolled his eyes.

"So that's how Tatsumi was able to stomach making these reservations. I'm sure the hotel was willing to give him a much better rate after he mentioned that he would leak this information to the press." Hisoka said with a slightly grumpy tone. Tsuzuki gave Motoko a bright smile and ruffled her hair.

"You are so observant, Toko-chan! I would have never found something like that on my own." He looked over to Hisoka the smile still on his face. Motoko beamed and placed the file on the bed.

"Now that I told you, I'm gonna go watch some TV. There's this show I've been dieing to see that Sakura-nee said her children used to watch." She skipped back out of the room closing the door. After a few seconds the door opened a crack and she poked her head in. "Oh, by the way, Tsuzuki-nii." The man looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. "You're right. Nii-san does look adorable when he is lost in thought." With that, the door closed. Both Tsuzuki and Hisoka's faces were flushed, though Hisoka's was a bit more prominent with his pale skin. There was an awkward silence as the two of them sat there taking in what had just been said.

"_She's out to expose my secret. Why? I told her I was content just the way we were._" Tsuzuki didn't let his small nervous smile slip from his face as the uneasiness ran through his entire body. He made sure to keep this all behind his shields so that the young empathy sitting on the bed next to him wouldn't pick up on it. The door opened again and Motoko's head came into view.

"I'll come in here and continue exposing your thoughts if I don't start hearing some talking soon." She said with a bright smile before disappearing behind the closed door again. Tsuzuki let out a nervous laugh before turning to face Hisoka. He had to do something, anything to get a sense of normalcy. This awkward silence was killing him. Without thinking, he reached over and picked up piece of Hisoka's white chocolate. He looked away and was ready to put it into his mouth when a hand closed around his wrist.

"I thought you hated white chocolate, and besides, it is mine." Tsuzuki turned around and found Hisoka glaring at him. His face flushed lightly as he felt the empath's fingers wrapped around his wrist. Hisoka took the piece of chocolate out of his hand and popped it into his mouth. Once he had freed the candy he dropped Tsuzuki's wrist. Tsuzuki took advantage of this and gave him a bright smile.

"I thought you didn't like sweets, Soka-chan." This earned him a cold glare. Tsuzuki smiled brightly in return.

"Don't call me that." Hisoka narrowed his eyes even more and popped another piece of chocolate into his mouth to make a point. Tsuzuki watched him eat the chocolate before quickly looking away a small blush appearing on his face. Hisoka continued to chew the piece as he watched with a confused look on his face. He was about to inquire when there was a rather loud pounding on their room door. Tsuzuki jumped at the sudden noise and all eyes flew to the closed door.

"Tsuzuki-nii, there's someone at the door!" Motoko said with a bright voice. "I'll get it if you're too busy." Hisoka quickly shoved Tsuzuki off the bed and glared at the man.

"If a seven-year-old answers the door they will know something is wrong. Get off your ass and answer it." His voice was demanding and he sounded almost like the older brother once again. Tsuzuki whined, but moved to answer the door. When he left the room he found Motoko just about to answer the door.

"Toko-chan, how many times do I have to tell you? You know that you aren't supposed to answer the door." Tsuzuki put on the act of playing the older brother turned parent. He quickly moved to the side and opened the door. "Yes?" Standing outside were two older men in suits. They actually looked to be in their early thirties or late twenties. "How may I help you gentlemen?" He opened the door a bit wider to appear a bit friendlier. Motoko fell into her seven-year-old fear of strangers quickly and clutched at Tsuzuki's pants leg. One man bowed his head slightly and looked back up at Tsuzuki.

"I hate to be a bother, sir, but we would appreciate it if you would vacate this room. The hotel manager has already volunteered to set you up with a free upgrade." Tsuzuki raised a questioning eyebrow at the men.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, but I don't quite understand why. There is nothing wrong with this room and we have actually grown quite comfortable in it." This wasn't good. For the first time, their case seemed easy. Simply wait and play the bait. Why couldn't they ever catch a break? The other man standing there let out a sigh.

"You may not be aware of this, but there has been a recent string of murders and it seems that the only link between the victims is this room. We would like you to vacate this room so that we may begin to examine it." This made Tsuzuki uneasy. He looked at each man in turn. One of them sent a disapproving look to Motoko. She tugged lightly at Tsuzuki's pants. He softened his voice and looked down at her.

"Toko-chan, why don't you go keep an eye on Hisoka? Let me know if he wakes up." She nodded her head and sent a nervous look to the two men before rushing off to the bedroom. Once she closed the door he turned back to the two men. "I really hate to be a bother, but my younger brother is rather sick right now. He passed out and I really don't think we should move him for a while. He has a weak immune system and doesn't take to diseases too well." It seemed like a lame way to explain what he wanted to say. Both men raised an eyebrow demanding more information.

"Ah, see I knew I couldn't explain it right. I'm really sorry, but I don't have a good way of explaining things." He was feeling extremely nervous since the two seemed so skeptical. "You see, Hisoka gets sick really easily and sometimes he'll even pass out. When that happens he has to stay in bed and we really don't like to move him. Last time we did, we ended up prolonging his sickness for a week." They didn't look convinced and the man who had first spoken decided to enlighten him to that fact.

"Listen, sir, but you and your family are possibly in great danger. I believe that a week of sickness is a bit more important than your lives." Tsuzuki was beginning to panic with the way this was turning out. His lame excuse wasn't working and he had no idea what to do next. As he was struggling with what to do next there was a cough from the doorway of the bedroom. Hisoka was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Forgive my partners idiocy. He wasn't chosen for his quick thinking skills." The men standing at the door raised their eyebrows at this. "I knew I should have been the one to answer the door. Sorry for the confusion, but we have been assigned here to work under cover as part of the investigation. My partner was chosen for his ability to blend in and get information, not exactly for dealing with these kinds of situations." Tsuzuki stared dumbfounded as Hisoka blew their entire secret right there. "You have my word that his ineptitude will not interfere with the investigation. If you would be so kind as to leave a contact number we will give you any information we gather."

"I see. Why didn't you just mention this before?" The slightly older looking man reached into his coat pocket and took out a card. He handed it to Tsuzuki with a small smile. "Next time, you should come up with a better excuse. Had we actually bought your excuse your partner would have had to stay in bed the entire time and that would be extremely detrimental to the investigation." Tsuzuki took the card still dumbfounded. When the door closed Tsuzuki was still staring at the same spot. Hisoka let out a sigh and walked over to hit him in the head.

"Idiot. Stop standing there staring into space." Tsuzuki began to whine about the head injury earning him another one. "Idiot. I've already got a headache. Don't make it worse." Hisoka said shutting his eyes and trying to work out the ache by massaging his temples. The empathy overload had left him with a mild hangover, for lack of a better word. His entire body ached, but it was his head that pounded and surpassed all the other aches and pains.

"Hisoka has a headache? We should get you some pain medicine. We have to go grocery shopping, too." Tsuzuki got up and reached up to place a hand on his partner's forehead. "Well, you don't have a fever. That's good." He said with a relieved sigh. Hisoka winced slightly and clutched at his head.

"Shields. Keep up your shields." Tsuzuki jumped and reinforced his shields. "Damn. Damn. Damn." He clutched his head tighter causing all sorts of worry to leak out of the shields. "Tsuzuki, you're not helping! Keep your worry to yourself!" He snapped, not knowing what else to do. Motoko came out worry etched into her face.

"Nii-san. You're shields should have regenerated by now. Have you been sleeping well recently? If you haven't gotten enough sleep, your shields will give out on you." Realization hit Tsuzuki like a ton of bricks. He had seen the exhaustion in Hisoka's eyes and he knew that he had a nightmare when they watched him sleep. It just finally hit him there.

"You're having nightmares every night, aren't you Hisoka?" He knelt down in front of his partner as he glared up at the older man. "That's why you haven't been sleeping. You don't want to have nightmares. You can tell me about it, Hisoka. I'll listen really well. I promise." Motoko left the room to give them some privacy.

"My dreams are my own business, Tsuzuki." His glare intensified and emerald seemed to become even more intense. Tsuzuki found his self lost in the color. "Tsuzuki!" He was jolted back into reality and found Hisoka's glare even colder. "Damnit. Listen to me when I'm talking to you."

"Heh. Sorry, Hisoka." He scratched the side of his face nervously. A small smile came to his face and he looked back up. "What was it you were saying?" Hisoka threw his hands up in the air in frustration. When he tried to stand up he wavered and Tsuzuki rushed to keep him from falling.

"I'm fine, Tsuzuki. Stop babying me. I don't need your help." He grumbled as he tried to stand. Tsuzuki's arms hovered around him ready to catch him should he fall. "I'm not a child." His head dropped down a little and his bangs covered his eyes.

"I know you're not a child, Hisoka. You're my partner and since you're my partner it gives me license to help you." He said in a whiney voice. "You should try to get some sleep today. No more working for you." As he spoke he placed a finger on his nose. "No arguments, 'kay?" His face was now inches from Hisoka's.

"F-fine, idiot." The empath's face turned bright red as he mumbled his answer. "Good. Now, let's get you to bed." Tsuzuki beamed and Hisoka turned his head away. His face was becoming even redder. While Hisoka's attention was drawn elsewhere Tsuzuki's smile became more mischievous. In one quick motion he scooped his partner up like a bride. "What the hell! Put me down. NOW!" Hisoka fumed and tried to push out of his arms. Tsuzuki just held onto him tighter.

"No way. I like carrying you. I've done it plenty of times before." He beamed as Hisoka's already red face became even redder. This time it spread all the way across his face. "You look so cute when you blush, Soka-chan." He beamed and pulled Hisoka closer to him.

"Don't call me that and PUT ME DOWN!" Motoko came out of the bedroom with a smile on her face. She watched the fight continue. Hisoka was fuming and trying to escape as Tsuzuki smiled and held his young partner tighter. They made such a cute couple. She did something she hadn't done in a while, she pulled her shields down slightly and tried to peer into Hisoka's mind. It wasn't that she wanted to invade his privacy she just wanted to know if he would accept Tsuzuki as himself.

"_I wouldn't want to push only to hurt Tsuzuki-nii. Nii-san would lose an important friend, too._" She felt the small sensation of a mind. One quick check and she found that it was Tsuzuki's mind. Carefully, she pushed those thoughts to the back of her head. When she focused on Hisoka she encountered his shields. Pulling down her shields just a bit more she managed to slip passed his shields. She hoped that it was without his knowledge. Unfortunately something snapped and she was pulled completely into his mind. Her shields were completely torn down and she lost control of her powers.

"What the hell!" Hisoka's eyes widend and he clamped his hands on his head again. "Get out of my head!" Tsuzuki watched as Hisoka struggled with his inner battle. Motoko was practically swimming in Hisoka's mind now. Everything came to her. "_What are you doing! Get out of my head!_" Motoko heard the voice, but there was nothing she could do. Images flashed through her mind. She suddenly learned everything about him and even learned about things he had forgotten or repressed.

"_I am so sorry. I really didn't mean for this to happen._" Hisoka heard the voice of his intruder. "_I just wanted to know something. I didn't mean to get sucked in like this, Nii-san._" Hisoka shuddered as he recognized Motoko's voice. He was practically thrown back by the force of the emotions swirling around in his head. There was regret, sadness, guilt, and the deepest depression and self-loathing he had ever felt. Not even Tsuzuki was as bad as this.

He tried to reach to find the reason, but there was a dark barrier preventing him from diving any further. As he reached the barrier he felt the darkness awaken and forced him back into his own mind. He gasped and felt Motoko's presence leave. He opened his eyes to find a very worried Tsuzuki, barriers in full effect.

"Are you all right, Hisoka? What happened? Are you okay now?" He realized that he was still in Tsuzuki's arms. When he tried to squirm out Tsuzuki just held him tighter. "Hisoka, what happened?" That was when Hisoka caught sight of Motoko. She was on the floor next to the bedroom curled up in a ball.

"Tsuzuki, put me down! Motoko needs our help." Tsuzuki's grip loosened as he caught sight of Motoko. This gave Hisoka the chance to escape. He got out of Tsuzuki's arms and stormed over to Motoko. "You went into my mind." She looked up and his glare melted. She looked like a scared seven-year-old with tears streaming down her face. As she looked up at him she hiccupped and more tears fell down her face.

"I-I'm so sorry. I promise I didn't mean to . . . please . . . please don't be mad. I won't do it again." Her pleas became hysterical until she was crying too hard to speak. Tsuzuki knelt down next to her and pulled her head to his chest. They sat that way while she cried. "I didn't mean to. Please don't be mad. Please." The phone rang and Hisoka rushed to get it.

"Kurosaki-kun, is something wrong? What happened? Narita-chan's shields came down." Tatsumi's voice was still rather calm, though there was a hint of panic hidden there. Only someone who had spent a long amount of time with the secretary would realize that.

"I don't really know what happened. I think she tried to peak at my thoughts, but she got sucked into my mind." He tried to explain, his eyes darting to the girl still crying in Tsuzuki's chest. "How exactly would you know about this, Tatsumi-san?" I usually didn't ask, but I thought that I had a right to know. My mind was the one that had been invaded.

"Narita-chan asked me to put up a shield around some of her memories just in case something like this happened. Had that shield not been there you would have been knocked unconscious by the force of her emotions." Tatsumi explained. Hisoka continued to stare at the young girl. Sure, all shinigami came into the job with baggage, but what would be so bad for a seven-year-old to become one. Once they exchanged farewells he hung up the phone and returned to his two partners.

"I really am sorry, Nii-san." Motoko said in a small voice. "I didn't know that would happen. I just wanted to know what you were thinking." She sniffed and pushed away from Tsuzuki. Her eyes were red and there were tearstains on her cheeks. She rubbed her eyes with a sniff. "Who was that on the phone?"

"Tatsumi-san called to make sure everything was all right. His shield allowed us to separate." She nodded her head and rubbed her eyes again. New tears replaced the ones she had wiped away earlier. She stood up suddenly and bowed deeply.

"I know that I haven't been completely honest with you and it's probably not fair especially after what happened today." She looked up at Hisoka with more tears in her eyes. "If there is any way I can make up for this please let me know. I really didn't mean for this to happen." Hisoka knelt down in front of her at a loss for what to do. He had never dealt well with children.

"I'm sure Hisoka's not angry with you, Toko-chan. Isn't that right, Hisoka?" Tsuzuki turned to the empath with a smile on his face. "You're not angry with her. Isn't that right?" Hisoka gave him a grateful look before nodding his head. "See, Toko-chan? Everything is all right." She sniffed, rubbed her eyes then flung herself at Hisoka. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she buried her head into his shoulder as she continued to cry.

"Ah . . . uh . . ." Hisoka looked up to Tsuzuki for his help. Tsuzuki smiled a genuine smile and motioned for him to hold her. Hesitantly, he brought his arms around the girl's shoulders. When he looked back up at Tsuzuki for approval he found the man beaming. There was a small stream of emotions leaking through his shields. There was pride, affection, and general warm fuzzies coming from the older man. The girl's crying eased into small hiccups and soon her breathing became steady.

"I think she's asleep now, Hisoka. We should let her rest." Tsuzuki said with the smile still on his face. "Carry her to the bed and we'll tuck her in." He stood up and dusted off his knees. Hisoka left one arm wrapped around Motoko's shoulder and put the other under her knees as he stood up. Unaccustomed to the extra weight it took him a few minutes to adjust his center of gravity. "Hisoka, she really likes you." They walked back into the bedroom. Hisoka set her on the bed and watched as Tsuzuki tucked her into the bed. He seemed to be exrtremely parental as he brushed her bangs away from here forehead. They quietly walked out of the room and closed the door.

Thank you all for your support. Reviews keep me fueled and I'm starting up on more Tsusoka so please let me know what you think. Until the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you all so much for your support. If this keeps up I'll be able to keep up with this pace of updating . . . well, if school allows. I want to thank all of you who review personally so if you leave an email address I'll drop you a line thanking you personally. If you don't I'll thank you here and now and continue throughout my fic. Now, on with the story

"Soka-chan, you did so well with Toko-chan. You looked just like her older brother. It was soo sweet." Tsuzuki continued to ramble as he leaned closer to Hisoka's shoulder while the boy sat in the corner of the couch with a book. "You two were too cute for words. It just made my heart sing." Hisoka rolled his eyes and turned the page in his book.

"Idiot." The page turning allowed him only that comment. It was a particularly interesting chapter and he wasn't about to let Tsuzuki take him away from his enjoyment. Tsuzuki, however, had other ideas and he leaned on Hisoka's shoulder to see what he was reading.

"What'cha reading, Soka-chan? It has to be really good for you to ignore me." Hisoka refrained from answering that. It was too easy. He simply shrugged the man off of his shoulder and continued reading. Even then he gave a silent thank you to him for keeping his shields up. "Come on, Soka-chan. Don't ignore me like this. I was just wondering what you are reading."

"Don't call me that, idiot." He said as he turned the page again. Had he been paying attention to the man sitting next to him he would have seen the man begin to pout like a little child. It would have warned him about what was to happen. The book was suddenly pulled out from his grasp and brought in front of Tsuzuki's face. "Give that back." The empath's voice was emotionless, cold, and held all of the unspoken threats he could think up. Tsuzuki simply used his finger to hold his place and began reading the summary on the back. "Tsuzuki. Give me back my book."

"I wanna read this." Tsuzuki said as he handed the book back. "Would you read it to me, Soka-chan?" As Hisoka took the book back again Tsuzuki held onto one end preventing him from absorbing his self into it again. "I want you to read it to me."

"Idiot. Just get your own copy and read it yourself." He tugged harder in a futile effort to reclaim his book. Tsuzuki was much stronger and he knew that, but if he pulled hard enough Tsuzuki would give up. "Tsuzuki." That's what usually happened.

"I want you to read it to me. I'm not very good at staying focused when I'm reading. If you read it to me my attention won't wander." Hisoka's eyes shot up to the man's face. He was caught off guard to see the completely serious look on his face. Tsuzuki must have caught the disbelief because he decided to explain himself. "If you're reading it my mind won't be able to wander." Hisoka's face became bright red and he looked down at the floor.

"I-idiot!" He tugged at the book again, but it still didn't budge. After a few seconds he finally gave up. He stood up suddenly, letting go of the book and moved to the bedroom door. Once the door was closed Tsuzuki slumped with a sigh. He picked up Hisoka's bookmark, put it in place then set the book on the end table.

"Why don't I learn when to close my mouth?" He closed his eyes and his hands clenched. "Idiot. I really am an idiot." While he was berating himself Hisoka was leaning against the bedroom door trying to regain control of his blushing face.

"_Why? Why does he say things like that?_" He shook his head in order to get Tsuzuki's face out of his mind. It was unnerving to see Tsuzuki looking like that. Tsuzuki's shields had slipped and Hisoka had been forced to feel his sincerity as he spoke. He shook his head again. "_It couldn't be that. Tsuzuki was just being Tsuzuki. He'd have done the same thing with anyone_." He tried to explain away the image when he heard a slight rustling coming from the bed.

"Nii-san? Is that you?" Motoko rubbed her eyes and sat up on the bed. Hisoka silently cursed his self since he had woken her. Even in the dimly lit room he could see her smile. "You didn't wake me up. 'm not tired any more." She put her hands in her lap after pushing some of her hair behind her ears. "You really aren't angry with me." He shook his head even though she hadn't asked a question. "Nii-san . . . after what happened . . . you know I didn't mean for this to happen, but I know everything." Her eyes darted down to the bed. He looked up at her.

"What do you mean?" He pushed off the door he was leaning on and walked over to the bed. There was an air of caution and uneasiness in his voice. Not even Tsuzuki knew about everything that had happened to him. Having someone he had just met know the details of his miserable life, that wasn't something he was prepared for.

"When I got sucked into your mind something connected. I ended up getting your complete life story including details that you probably don't even remember." Her hands fisted in the sheets. "I know that it's not fair 'cause you didn't get past Tatsumi-san's barrier." He froze where he stood. His mind wasn't prepared for this. Not at all. Motoko looked up at him with sad eyes begging for forgiveness. "I'd let you in, but . . . I'm sorry Nii-san." The door came open and Tsuzuki poked his head in.

"Oh, good. You're awake. I thought we could catch dinner before we get ready for bed." His usual smile was on his face, but it faltered when he saw Hisoka. "Hisoka? Everything all right?" Tears came back into Motoko's eyes and she looked up at the two of them.

"I'm really sorry, Nii-san. I know that can't make up for what's happened, but . . ." She trailed off as the tears broke free. "I swear that I won't tell anyone and I'll stay out of your head from now on. Just don't be mad at me." Tsuzuki looked at Hisoka to try for an answer. The empathy was staring wide-eyed at the girl on the bed. His legs gave out and Tsuzuki caught him before he hit the floor.

"Hisoka! Toko-chan!" This was really confusing. He didn't know what was going on so he had no idea how to make things better for either of them. This position was not one he ever wanted to be in again. "What happened?" Hisoka snapped out of his trance and pushed violently out of the older man's arms. "His-" Before he could even finish Hisoka teleported and was gone.

"It's all my fault, Tsuzuki-nii. He probably hates me now and you should to." Motoko hiccupped and clenched the bed sheets even tighter. Tsuzuki looked down at her confusion and concern written all over her face. "When I got sucked into his mind I got a full report of his life repressed memories and all. He hates me because there are things he didn't want anyone to know." She sniffed and more tears fell down her face. "You should go talk to him. I'll stay here and wait." Tsuzuki stared for a second.

"He doesn't hate you, Toko-chan." He set a hand on her head. She looked up with tears still streaming down her face. "Hisoka is a very private person and . . . I know he doesn't blame you for what happened. Running away like that is how he deals with things he can't deal with." He gave her a soft smile. "Let me call Tatsumi and see if he won't stay here with you while I go find Hisoka." The girl's gaze fell back down to the bed and he removed his hand.

The phone call was short and in a few seconds both Tatsumi and Watari were standing in front of the door. "Don't you worry 'bout a thing, Tsuzuki." Watari said with his usual cheer. "Tatsumi and I'll hold down the fort while you go searching for Bon." He gave them both a grateful smile. Tatsumi pushed his glasses further up on his nose.

"Call us when you find him." The statement gave away the worry that they both felt. Tsuzuki, who spoke fluent Tatsumi when he tried, translated it as 'call us so we won't continue worrying about him'. He gave them a quick nod before dashing out of the room.

Short I know, but it was too perfect a place not to cut off. I'll get the next chapter out soon. Ja e.


	7. Chapter 7

Er . . . apparently something happened and I loaded the wrong chapter here . . . thank you Kagome-reincarnation for telling me. It's fixed now.

Yay! Another chapter. I again want to thank you all for your support. . . . . I don't know what else to say without sounding like a broken record. On with the chapter.

The two of them were working in Tatsumi's office when the phone rang. Watari's concentration was completely shattered so he took to listening in on the conversation. It wouldn't promise to be entertaining since this was Tatsumi, but it would be a welcome distraction from the mountains of paperwork. He was already formulating the plan to slip something into Hisoka or Tsuzuki's coffee the next time they were in.

"Tsuzuki?" Watari's eyebrows rose. Maybe this would be an interesting conversation after all. Tsuzuki always promised entertainment. "Calm down, Tsuzuki what about Kurosaki-kun?" Scratch the earlier comments. Watari was worried now. "He just disappeared?" There was a pause as Tatsumi waited for Tsuzuki to finish. "Alright. I'll be right over. Wait until we get there to go searching." Watari jumped up and sent the secretary a hard glare. "Excuse me, Watari-san and I will be right over." With that he hung up the phone. Tatsumi walked over to the scientist, set a hand on his shoulder and they were in the hotel room in the next second. Tsuzuki had just set down the phone and looked up at them. Watari gave him a small smile

"Tatsumi and I'll hold down the fort while you go searching for Bon." Tsuzuki gave them both a grateful smile. Tatsumi pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"Call us when you find him." Tsuzuki gave them a quick nod before dashing out of the room. Tatsumi closed the door with a sigh and pushed his glasses up again. They were all worried about Hisoka and why he had suddenly run off. Tsuzuki hadn't had the patience to explain the details of what had happened.

"Maybe Motoko-chan can explain what happened." Watari said absently and he held 003 in his hands. The owl had been perched on Tatsumi's shoulder when they had teleported and returned to Watari once Tsuzuki had run out. Tatsumi looked down as he felt a small tug at his pants leg.

"Tatsumi-san, I'm sorry. This is all my fault." Motoko looked up at him with tears falling down her cheeks. "I know you and Tari-san are real busy so you can just go back home. I can take care of myself." Tatsumi let out a sigh and picked up the crying girl. He had never been very good with children, but had picked up this habit from Tsuzuki and right now, despite her chronological age Motoko was a seven-year-old. Watari came over and pat her head.

"We're going to stay here until Bon and Tsuzuki come back. Besides, we're worried about both of you." He gave the girl a bright smile. She sniffed, nodded then turned and let out all of her tears into Tatsumi's shoulder. "Can you tell us what happened?' She nodded into Tatsumi's shoulder, but the tears prevented her explanation. Watari gently pat her back until the tears let up enough for her to speak.

"I wanted to peak into Nii-san's mind. Just a small look, but when I did I got sucked in entirely." She sniffed and hands fisted into Tatsumi's suit jacket. "His whole life, all his secrets, and even a few repressed memories flooded into my mind. He didn't even get into mine to be fair. He disappeared after he found out." The tears came back and she buried her head in Tatsumi's shoulder again.

"I see." Watari said more to himself than anyone in particular. He sent an understanding look to Tatsumi and continued to pat Motoko's back. "Bon isn't mad, Toko-chan. He just has to absorb the information. Tsuzuki will find him and then he'll come back and tell you that he's not mad." Tatsumi rolled his eyes. That wasn't necessarily the truth. It wasn't going to help. She may look like a seven-year-old, but she wasn't that young. Hisoka wasn't about to come back and tell her that he wasn't mad. Hell, half the time not even Tsuzuki could tell when he was mad or not.

"Watari-san." The tone was warning and his eyes narrowed at the scientist. Watari met his gaze and stared back with determination. He wasn't going to take it back or tell her the truth because she just needed comfort right now. The girl fell asleep still crying into Tatsumi's shoulder. They wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't released her death-grip hold on his jacket.

"Let's get her to bed." Watari said leading the way to the bedroom and allowing Tatsumi to continue holding the child. Once Tatsumi set her down on the bed Watari took over in pulling the sheets up to her chin and pushing the hair away from her forehead. "She's really upset."

"She was extremely worried when she found out that Kurosaki-kun was an empath." Tatsumi said as he leaned against the wall. "She asked me to set up a barrier in her mind that would keep him out if her shields ever failed." Watari raised an eyebrow and looked over at the secretary. "If Kurosaki-kun's empathy ever picked up on any of Narita-chan's inner emotions they would overload his senses." He pushed his glasses up again. "That was how she had explained it to me."

"That makes sense." It was Tatsumi's turn to raise an eyebrow. "She is the only shinigami younger than Bon and even he's a bit too young to be a shinigami. His life sucked butt. Think about it, Tatsumi. She was seven. What kind of seven-year-old _demands_ to become a shinigami?" He let out a sigh and stood next to the secretary. "Does anyone really know what happened to her?" Tatsumi pushed his glasses further up on his nose.

"Her file has been sealed and only someone with the highest clearance can get it." Watari sighed and ran a hand through his long hair. "Tsuzuki is the only one I am sure knows, but that was only because he was the one who worked her case. His partner has passed on since and I had not come yet." Watari jumped up in front of the secretary. If this sudden movement caught the secretary off guard no one would have noticed.

"She was a case? Isn't there some kind of rule that says if they are a case they can't become a shinigami?" Tatsumi covered a sigh by pushing up his glasses. He did, however, roll his eyes.

"It is not a rule or regulation, but more of a suggested policy. Those who were cases tend to cause more problems as shinigami than even Tsuzuki himself. I believe something happened in the past that put this policy into effect." Watari thought for a second and his eyes moved to look at the girl sleeping on the bed. "Narita-chan is an extremely strong telepath and her mental shields protect her from possession. Those talents probably caused the policy to be overlooked."

"I don't know." Watari's voice sounded far away as he considered the explanation. "I just can't help, but think it had something to do with her life. I mean, seven years old . . ." He turned his gaze back to Tatsumi. "Not even the King of Hell is that cruel as to make a seven-year-old kill people for sixty years."

"If you are unsatisfied with my answer, Watari-san, I cannot do any more. Her file is sealed, only Tsuzuki seems to know anything and I am sure that she does not wish to tell us. If you do not like it then keep your ponderings to yourself." Tatsumi said with a sigh. Watari glared at him lightly.

"I'm not trying to squeeze you for information, Tatsumi. I was just trying to hold an intelligent conversation with you." He scolded the secretary lightly by swatting at his arm. Tatsumi raised an eyebrow at this gesture. "Lighten up. I know you're worried about Bon and Tsuzuki, but they will be fine. If anyone would know where Bon is hiding it would be Tsuzuki." He set a hand carefully on the secretary's shoulder. "If they don't call soon I'll stay here with Motoko-chan and you can go out looking for them. Sound good?" He gave Tatsumi his brightest smile.

"Fine." Tatsumi sounded almost like a stubborn child causing Watari to smile even brighter. "We should have brought some of that paperwork with us. It is a waste of time just to sit here and wait for them to come." Watari face-faulted and looked up at the man from his place on the floor.

"You, my friend, are a workaholic. Don't think I don't notice what times you leave the office." He stood up and waved his finger in front of Tatsumi's face. "You stay waaay too late and come in waaay too early. I've been on Konoe-kacho's case about forcing you to take some vacation time, but the man has no spine when it comes to you." Tatsumi raised an eyebrow.

"I do not need a vacation. The hours I work are just fine for me." His eyes narrowed slightly. "If you wish to admonish me for the amount of work I do maybe you should cut down on the laboratory expenses. Three explosions a week is very expensive, Watari-san and involves several forms that must be filled out, reviewed, signed, reviewed again, then sent back in." Watari smiled.

"Right. We made a deal that I would work on that, but that is not what I am talking about. I mean the hours you work. You come in at five every morning and there are nights that you do not leave until two or three. Tatsumi, that is unhealthy. I don't know how you can manage to work so much without having a nervous breakdown or falling asleep at your desk." He put his hands on his hips and glared. "If you don't start taking better care of yourself I will have to get involved. That means that I will be barging into your office to drag you to a lunch break and then later on to get you to get home." After the speak Tatsumi simply raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you think you will succeed in doing any such thing?" The threat was hidden under the words and in the slight ripple of the shadows in the room. Watari, however, was unaffected.

"I have my ways, Tatsumi. You _will_ start taking better care of yourself or _I_ will start taking care of you." There was an awkward silence as the two stared at each other. It was a staring contest of wills with neither willing to give in. Neither of them moved and neither had any idea of how long they stared. Their contest ended only when they heard the telephone ring.

Next chapter will be Tsuzuki looking for Hisoka. Please keep reviewing. I'll keep writing if I keep getting feedback. I like hearing what people think. Constructive criticism is adored. bows Arigatou gozaimasu.


	8. Chapter 8

I love you all! You're all so nice to me. Here is the next chapter.

Hisoka found himself in a park he knew wasn't too far from the hotel. They had passed it before stopping by the sweets shop earlier that day. He had wanted to go home, but that would have been one of the first places Tsuzuki would look for him. He didn't want to be found, not like this. The trees surrounding him were the perfect cover as he felt his emotional breakdown come. Using the closest tree as a support, he slid to the ground, hugging his knees and burying his face in them.

He knew that Motoko hadn't meant for that to happen and he really wasn't angry with her for it. The truth was that he was terrified of what she had found out. No one, not even Tsuzuki, knew the deep emotional scars. There was a self-loathing inside his heart that, while it wasn't on Tsuzuki's level, was still rather deep. What would happen if anyone found out just how inferior he was?

Tears fell from his eyes despite his best efforts to fight them. He buried his head further into his knees and continued to fight the losing battle. She had to know about the strings, how he was still Muraki's puppet despite being dead. He squeezed his knees tighter and bit down on his bottom lip to keep even more tears from coming. There was no way he could handle having someone know all of those things about him.

"Now isn't this an interesting scene." Hisoka's entire body froze at the sound of that voice. He stayed in the same position with his eyes shut praying that it was just his mind playing a cruel joke. "It is not polite to ignore someone when they are talking to you." The curse marks flared and a searing pain forced Hisoka out of the ball he had curled himself into. He was forced to look up and see his murderer with a sinister smile on his face. "Now that I have your attention."

"What the hell do you want, bastard?" Hell, if this was a figure of his imagination, then he might as well tell it off. Maybe then his mind would stop playing these horrible tricks on him. Muraki's eyes narrowed slightly, but the smile remained plastered to his face.

"You are being extremely rude today, my little doll. Is Tsuzuki-san not teaching you manners?" Hisoka cringed at the mention of his partner. What would Tsuzuki think if Motoko told him about what she had found in his mind? Tsuzuki would leave him if he ever found out about the strings connecting him to Muraki. If Tsuzuki left him . . . another wave of pain forced him out of his thoughts. "There you are ignoring me again. We simply can't have that." Muraki waved a scolding finger at him. "I am going to have to teach you a lesson."

Panic flooded Hisoka's mind, which he knew could only be his own. Before teleporting he had thrown up the strongest mental shields he could muster and had managed to block every emotion that came at him. There was no escaping this situation, but damn if he wasn't going to put up a fight. "Get the hell away from me, you sadistic bastard." Muraki's smile faltered.

"Ah, I see. You aren't going to make this easy, are you?" The empath simply glared at the doctor with the coldest glare he could muster. "It is much more fun this way." The smile had returned and there was a sadistic gleam in his eyes that made Hisoka shudder. He wasn't going to survive this. Muraki was going to kill him, again.

_"But would that be so bad._" A voice came up into his mind. "_You are only a liability to Tsuzuki and the others. You could never become their equal. Why not just let it all end?_" Hisoka slammed his eyes closed and tried to force the voice out of his head. He couldn't just let himself die, especially not at Muraki's hands.

"My little doll, you are making this much too easy." Muraki's voice was full of sadistic pleasure as he lifted the boy up from the ground. Hisoka had shut everything out from the world around him and retreated into his mind. "Tsuzuki-san will come to me again. You will ensure me of that."

Hisoka was still trapped within his own mind arguing with the voice he had heard earlier. "_You are just a nuisance to the others especially Tsuzuki. It would be much better if you were gone._" The voice continued. "_Just look at how pathetic you are. You were crying in a park. That is the most pathetic thing I have seen._" Hisoka tried to shut out the voice. "_Look at you. You fell right into his trap. You are hopeless. All you do is get in trouble for Tsuzuki to have to come rescue you, putting himself at risk._"

"_No, I am not helpless._" Hisoka's protest was weak. He shut his eyes and covered his ears trying to shut out the sensible argument of the voice.

"_Listen to you. Who are you trying to convince? You are such a wimp. There is no way you will ever be even close to their level. He just walked up to you and you broke. God, you are so pathetic._" The voice continued to ridicule him. Hisoka felt tears come to his eyes once again.

"_ . . . Tsuzuki . . ._" The voice laughed. It was mocking and loud. Hisoka tried, but he could not tune it out. The laughing came from everywhere and filtered through him.

"_Even now you are relying on him to save you. Tsuzuki isn't coming this time. I'm sure he's probably sick of having to come save your ass every time Muraki shows up. This time he'll just let Muraki have you. It would be for the best. Tsuzuki wouldn't be in danger and you are no longer causing him and the others problems._" Hisoka felt himself being tugged back to reality.

A sharp pain in his neck and wrists brought him to full awareness. The first thing he thought of when he saw his surroundings was 'dark'. There was no light in the room. He shuddered as a wave of fear and panic came over him. His arms were bound somewhere with something over his head and there was something wrapped around his neck. It was cold and a shiver ran down his spine as a small draft blew across his skin. His shirt had been removed and the draft seemed to come and go at random times.

"I see you have finally come back to me, my little doll." Even in the dark he knew it was Muraki. The voice sent another shiver down his spine. "Cold? You will just have to live with it, my doll." A small light flickered on over Hisoka's head. With this little light, Hisoka was able to see the sadistic smile on the doctor's face. "Now that you are awake, I can begin my experiment." The smile grew and Hisoka shivered as a wave of panic came over him. That smile never meant anything good.

" . . . go . . . to . . . hell . . ." Hisoka's voice was soft and cracked. He frowned at the sound. There had been nothing wrong with his voice before. If it was possible, Muraki's grin became even more sadistic.

"You shouldn't have been able to manage that much out." His smile didn't falter, but his silver eyes narrowed slightly. "I believe I have underestimated your abilities, my little doll." He caressed the empath's cheek. "Don't worry, that will not happen again." Whatever was around his neck suddenly began to burn. Hisoka tried to cry out, but no sound came. "Perfect." The doctor purred into Hioska's ear. "Dolls make no sound." Hisoka's eyes widened as the panic returned.

"_What is he planning on doing to me?_" Muraki took a step back, letting his hand slide down his face, neck, shoulders, and chest before leaving him completely. Hisoka shuddered again. Tears threatened to leak out of his eyes, but he stubbornly pushed them back. No matter what, he would _never_ cry in front of Muraki. Inside his own mind he was already beginning to crack. "_. . . Tsuzuki . . . please . . ._"

I'd say I hope you all enjoyed, but this chapter isn't one to enjoy. Just wait. I promise I'll get more of the TsuzukixHisoka-ness soon. There just has to be some angsting when you're talking 'bout these guys. Don't abandon me yet. ; Please continue to review. It keeps me writing. Ja ne.


	9. Chapter 9

twirls around Thank you all so much for your support. I know I left you all off at a really bad time so to make it up to you I updated uber quickly. Here you are!

Tsuzuki slumped down in the chair behind him. He looked in every one of the empath's hideouts and there was still no sign of him. This was his third time he had looked around the empty house and he was just about to give up. As he sat there the house began to echo the emptiness and he shivered. There was little sign that a person actually lived in the house. Nothing he could see reminded him that his partner had actually lived there. He shivered and scanned the room for any sight that verified that Hisoka wasn't a figment of his imagination.

His eye caught sight of a small cat sitting on the bookshelf and a small smile came to his face. It was a stuffed animal that, Tsuzuki thought, looked like Hisoka, if he were a cat. He stood up and made his way over to the cat as the memory came back to him.

"What the hell was I thinking when I agreed to this?" Hisoka groaned as Tsuzuki drug him through the exhibits and booths at a festival. Tsuzuki answered without even looking back at the boy he was dragging.

"You were thinking about how much paperwork wasn't going to get done until I shut up and I wouldn't shut up until you promised me that you would come with me." Tsuzuki heard his partner sigh as he tugged him toward a shooting game he had seen. "Lookie, Hisoka! It's a shooting game."

"No, Tsuzuki. It's a duck disguised as a shooting game." The grumpy boy muttered sarcastically. Tsuzuki, not being the brightest crayon in the box, actually believed him.

"Really?" He began to examine the booth causing all of the people to begin staring at the two of them. Tsuzuki was oblivious to this as he continued to examine the booth. "That is a really good disguise. Maybe we should get the duck to teach us how to do it, 'Soka-chan. Itai!" He was now clutching his head and Hisoka was standing over him holding his fist up.

"Idiot. I was being sarcastic and stop acting like a fool. You're attracting attention." Tsuzuki looked around, still clutching his head, and noticed the crowd they had gathered.

"Oh, I'm sorry." His attention was immediately drawn to the shelf of stuffed animals in the booth he had been examining. "Lookie, Hisoka! That kitty looks exactly like you." He pointed, forgetting the boy's earlier punch. The kitty had the same color hair as Hisoka and, though not as captivating, the same green eyes. "It's soooo cute, just like you." It took everything he had not to go over and glomp the empath. Hisoka's face became bright red and he turned away.

"Idiot." He muttered trying to get away. While his back was turned Tsuzuki pulled out a little bit of pocket money he had borrowed from his partner and paid for a chance to win the kitty. He aimed for the kitty, but missed and shot the empty space to the right, so he adjusted his shot and hit the kitty square on.

"Oh, I got it." His voice was quiet so he wouldn't attract attention. The booth manager picked up the stuffed animal and handed it to the man with a grunt. "Thank you." He said and turned to the blond empath. Hisoka was still lost in his own thoughts. His face had changed from a bright red to a slight pink. Tsuzuki beamed and placed the kitty on his head. This startled the empath out of his thoughts. "You look so cute when you're lost in your own world, 'Soka-chan!" The bright red blush returned. Tsuzuki pointed to the animal on his head. "I won it for you, Hisoka. You've gotta name it."

"What are you, four?" Tsuzuki nodded his head. "Idiot." He said as he pulled the cat off of his head, trying to hand it back to his older partner. "Here, you like stuffed animals." Tsuzuki took the kitty and placed it on Hisoka's head again.

"I got it for you. You keep it." To prevent further protests from the boy, he grabbed his hand and pulled him off to get some food.

Very carefully, Tsuzuki picked up the kitty from the shelf. "He kept you this whole time? I wonder what he finally decided to name you." He looked the kitty in the eye. "Do you know where he is?" Alarm bells suddenly went off in his head. He hugged the cat to his chest and fought the panic that was rising in him. "_Why didn't I think of it earlier? I'm such an idiot. If anything has happened to Hisoka . . . I . . ._" He trailed off as he teleported back to the hotel room. Watari and Tatsumi were sitting at the table drinking tea.

"Where's Bon, Tsuzuki?" Watari asked as he set down the cup he was holding. Tatsumi assessed the man with the teacup up to his mouth. "And why do you have a stuffed cat that looks like Bon?" Tsuzuki clutched the cat tighter and fought the tears that threatened to prevent his explanation.

"Something's happened to Hisoka. I can't find him. I just know something bad has happened." Tears welled up in the corner of his eyes. He gave up on holding them back and fell to a sitting position on the floor clutching the animal. Watari jumped back and began flailing about, not sure what to do. Tatsumi let out a sigh and stood up.

"Watari-san, go check on Narita-chan." The scientist stopped and rushed off to the room, happy to have an order. "Tsuzuki, how do you know something bad has happened?" Tsuzuki hiccupped and sniffed.

"I don't know. I was searching his house for the third time when I . . . I just had this really bad feeling that something happened to him. Tatsumi, I looked everywhere for him and I couldn't find him. Something bad's happened to him and I couldn't do anything to stop it." The tears came back full-force. Before Tatsumi could do anything he heard a scream come from the bedroom. The door burst open and Motoko came running out to Tsuzuki with tears streaming down her face.

"Tsuzuki-nii!" The girl buried her head in his chest and the two of them sat there crying together. Watari appeared in the doorway confusion written all over his face. Suddenly, the girl pushed back from Tsuzuki, tears still streaming down her face. "He got Nii-san. The scary man got Nii-san!" Tsuzuki paled. "You gotta go help him, Tsuzuki-nii. He keeps calling out to you." She broke out into another wave of tears, burying her face into his chest once again.

"Narita-chan, do you know where Kurosaki-kun is?" The girl pushed back again. She looked up at Tatsumi and nodded her head. "Can you tell us where he is? We'll go get him." He answered just before Tsuzuki could say anything. When it came to the empath, Tsuzuki wasn't known to have patience even if it was a crying child.

"I know where he is, but I can't tell you exactly where. If I go I'll know exactly where I'm supposed to go." She said tugging at Tsuzuki's shirtsleeve. "Tsuzuki-nii, he keeps calling out." Tatsumi understood what she was saying.

"You've created a link with him, haven't you, Narita-chan?" She nodded her head. "Can you assure him that we are on our way?" She shook her head.

"He's been placed somewhere in his mind. I can't get to him and I'm pretty sure that he can't get out. We have to help him." She sniffed and tried to hold back more tears. "It's so painful." Tatsumi set a hand on her head and motioned with a slight nod of his head to Tsuzuki. She understood the gesture and said nothing more.

"Let's go." Tsuzuki said, standing up. He was still clutching the cat to his chest, but his eyes radiated determination. In one quick movement he picked up Motoko and held the cat out to her. "This is Hisoka's kity and we're going to go give it back to him and bring him home. Will you protect it for me?" She nodded and clutched the cat. "Good, now let's go." Tatsumi followed the two of them with Watari right behind.

Operation: Rescue Hisoka! is underway. I might actually have a plan as to where this story is going . . . That's a first! Reviewers will be given by undying gratitude and a free gift.

Hisoka: Idiot. You can't give them a free gift. glares

K: looks away I know, but I really like reviews. They keep me inspired.

Tsuzuki: Don't feel bad, K-chan! glomps

K: Tsuzuki-nii, you're the bestest! hugs

Motoko: What are you all doing? rubs eyes

Tsuzuki: Were you asleep, Toko-chan? We're sorry for waking you. bows head

K: Yeah, we're sorry, Motoko.

Hisoka: Idiots.

Motko: Nii-san didn't get much sleep tonight and he's mad that Tsuzuki is hugging K and not him. smiles

Hisoka: blushes

Tsuzuki: You know I only have eyes for you, 'Soka-chan! glomps

K: Such a cute couple! smiles Until next chapter. waves Ja ne


	10. Chapter 10

Operation: Rescue Hisoka is underway! Here is Chapter 10. :dodges flying objects: I know I left at a bad place. Forgive me::cries:

Hisoka felt the collar tighten around his neck as he hung there. Muraki had, once again, tied his wrists together and forced him to hang by them. It had been incredibly painful until he had locked it all away. Whenever he tried to pull himself into his mind to ignore what was happening something pulled him back. The collar would tighter, the bindings on his wrists would begin to burn, or his curse marks flared with a new intensity. He didn't know how long it had been and he still wasn't sure where he was.

"My little doll has come back to me." Muraki's voice was full of feigned relief. "How many times must I tell you not to go off into your own little world? I'm sure you must have annoyed Tsuzuki-san with that annoying habit of yours. He might have put up with it, but I will not." Hisoka felt the collar tighten even more, cutting off his ability to breath. He didn't struggle anymore.

"_There, that's perfect. Just let it all go. If he kills you it will solve everything. You won't be bothering Tsuzuki and the others anymore._" The collar loosened before he blacked out. He took a few deep breaths of air and looked down at the floor.

"We can't have you passing out on me. That just wouldn't be fun. Though . . . I wonder . . ." The collar tightened a bit. "Would a complete lack of air kill a shinigami?" Hisoka said nothing and made no sound. Even if he had wanted to he would have been unable. There was something about this collar that prevented him from making a sound. "Come now, my little doll. Have I broken you already?" Hisoka made no reaction.

"Muraki!" Something registered in Hisoka's mind with the voice. He looked up to see Tsuzuki standing in the doorway and the door blown off its hinges next to him. Sure he knew who it was, but nothing in his mind clicked. It seemed as though while he could recognize the man, he couldn't recognize any significance in his presence.Muraki turned around slowly with a hint of annoyance in his stance. "Let Hisoka go!" Hisoka stared blankly as three other people came in. Tatsumi, Watari, and Motoko stood behind Tsuzuki eyes darting back and forth between Muraki and Hisoka. Motoko hid behind Tatsumi's leg, clutching at the fabric of his pants.

"Tsuzuki-san. This is a pleasant surprise. I was sure I had more time with my doll before you found him." Muraki stepped toward Hisoka and placed a hand on his arm. "It hasn't been much fun without you here, Tsuzuki-san." Tsuzuki clenched his fists at his sides.

"Muraki, give us back Hisoka." His voice was shaking with fury and held unspoken threats. Hisoka looked down at the floor. It was painful to keep his head up and he just wanted to get away from the scene. "Hisoka!" He felt Muraki's grab his chin and pull him back up to look at Tsuzuki.

"Don't scare Tsuzuki-san like that, my little doll. We don't want him to get upset, now do we?" Muraki pulled his hand away and Hisoka kept his head up. He still refused to look at the elder shinigami standing at the door.

"I believe we haven't been properly introduced." Muraki said turning his attention to the shinigami behind Tsuzuki. "I am Muraki Kazutaka." He said in a very polite tone. Tsuzuki clenched his hands tighter knowing hat he had to play along if he wanted to get his partner back. Motoko took a small step forward and gave him a small bow. She still clutched the small cat in her arms.

"I'm Natrita Motoko. This is Tatsumi Seiichiro and Watari Yutaka." She asked in a sweet innocent voice, sounding just like the child she looked like. Muraki nodded to the child. In the brief moment his eyes were taken off of her, she moved forward to stand slightly in front of Tsuzuki. "Can we have Nii-san back now?"

"My dear child, this doll belongs to me. Children cannot play with such fragile toys." Muraki said with a smile. Tsuzuki lurched, but was stopped by Tatsumi's hand being placed on his shoulder. Muraki kept an eye on the two older men and Motoko took this chance to move forward a bit more without being noticed.

"But Nii-san isn't a doll. He's Nii-san." She clutched the kitten tighter in her arms, seeking strength from it. Hisoka refused to look at any of them and focused his eyes on the wall above the doorway. Motoko's childish logic could drag this conversation out long enough, but Muraki had to take the bait. He gave her a look that said he'd play this game for a while.

"Child, this boy is my doll." A sadistic grin spread over his face. Only Tatsumi's hand kept Tsuzuki from jumping Muraki right there. A small, unnoticed, shadow kept the man's mouth shut. Motoko turned her head to the side and sent a questioning look to the doctor. He gave her a small smile and turned his attention to Tsuzuki as he elaborated. "He has been my doll since I claimed him at the tender age of thirteen." Motoko inched forward even more.

"But you can't claim a person. Nii-san is a person, so how can you claim him?" She gave a mental 'thank you' that Muraki thought she was only a child and dropped enough of his guard. Just a few more steps and she could go on with her plan.

"Such a naïve child." He closed the space and placed a hand on the girl's head. Tsuzuki, Tatsumi, and Watari all stiffened. None of them knew what to do next. "Tsuzuki-san, how could you expose such a pure soul to the world of death? What kind of child will she grow up to be?" Muraki turned his attention to Tsuzuki. Motoko projected a quick thought to Tatsumi and in seconds the doctor was bound to the spot by shadows, hand still on Motoko's head. She smiled up at the man.

"You should know better than to underestimate your opponents, Muraki-san. What gave you the idea that I was a normal child?" His eyes widened suddenly, but he managed to maintain a calm aura. "Tsuzuki-nii, go check on Nii-san. I've got the perfect treatment for him." Tatsumi released the older shinigami and he rushed over to his partner.

"Hisoka! Are you all right, Hisoka?" Tsuzuki freed his hands and gently pulled him down. "Hisoka?" The empath's eyes closed and he fell into Tsuzuki. "Hisoka? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Tsuzuki carefully, pushed the blond bangs out of his eyes and cradled his partner. "Watari, something's wrong. Hisoka's not waking up."

"Oh, dear. It seems he finally managed to seek refuge in his own mind. I'm afraid nothing will bring him back out again." Muraki laughed, despite the situation. Motoko glared at the man and turned her head to face Tatsumi.

"Tatsumi-san, I want you to protect the others. This bastard deserves the worst. When I give the word, put up the strongest barrier around you four and pull down the one in my mind." Tatsumi nodded and they all crowded around Hisoka and Tsuzuki. Watari bent over to examine the empath.

"There's nothing physically wrong with him, that I can see. His shoulders are healing along with the cuts around his wrists. I hate to admit it, but that psycho may be right. If Bon's taken refuge in his own mind we may not be able to pull him out of it." Tsuzuki gently shook his partner with no result. Tatsumi carefully worked together a shield to protect them. Motoko caught his eye and he did as instructed. Inside the barrier there was only the four of them.

"Hisoka. You've got to come back to us. You're not with Muraki anymore. You're with us. He's not going to hurt you anymore, so . . . you've got to come back to us." There was no response from the boy. "Come on, Hisoka. You've got to come back. We all need you here. _I_ need you." Tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes. "Hisoka . . ."

Evil, I know, but I promise to get the next chapter out uber quick as well. :bows: You'll forgive me when this comes to an end I hope. Trust me, I won't leave you like this for long.

Tsuzuki: K-chan . . . :cries: I thought you liked me.

K: I do, why would you think otherwise?

Tsuzuki: You're leaving 'Soka-chan like that? Will he be all right? You've got to tell me::cries: I don't think I can take the suspense.

K::pats head: I know, I know. It pains me to leave it off there as well, but I have to. Don't worry, though I'll update really quickly.

Tsuzuki::cries:

K: Don't be mad at me, please. :cowers: I know I'm becoming evil about my chapter cut offs, but I update quickly to make up for it. You aren't left for months wondering what happened. Does that make up for it?


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11! Since I love you all soooooo much :squeals: I decided to put this chapter out even quicker than usual. It's been, what, a day since I last updated. I'm working really hard. We'll see where this goes. Keep reviewing and I'll be able to keep up this pace. :beams:

Operation: Rescue Hisoka! – Success . . . or is it? Dun dun dun

K: Love the dramatic music? I know I'm stalling. Here you go. :beams:

"_Look at you. You're hiding in your own mind instead of fighting back. I wonder what Tsuzuki is thinking now. You are just what Muraki called you. You are Muraki's doll._" Hisoka curled up into a tighter ball and fought back tears. He knew he was pathetic and from his place in his mind, he knew Tsuzuki had seen him. It just wasn't worth it. He'd stay here until he finally rotted away. It would be better that way.

"_You're just going to give up? That's not my 'Soka-chan. He's the stubborn empath who doesn't take crap from anyone._" That voice sounded familiar. Hisoka hesitated before taking a quick look up to see who had spoken to him. Amethyst eyes met his emerald ones. "_Hisoka, you have to come back. We all need you. _I_ need you._" He held out his hand for the empath to take.

"Hisoka . . ." This voice was full of sorrow, worry, fear, and despair. The emotions swirled around him as he opened his eyes. Hisoka tried to take in his surroundings, but found his head shoved into his partner's chest. He opened his mouth to call him an idiot, but no sound came. Silently, he cursed them for not removing the collar around his neck. He shifted in the arms surrounding him and watched as Tsuzuki pulled back in total surprise. Tears were streaming down his face, but the second they met Hisoka's eyes the tears became those of joy and he pulled the boy back to him. "Hisoka! You're back!"

"Tsuzuki, Bon needs to breath." Watari said with a slight chuckle. Hisoka peered over Tsuzuki's shoulder to see Watari and Tatsumi standing next to each other. Tatsumi's hand was on Watari's shoulder with Watari's own covering it. The scientist gave the hand a slight squeeze. "It's good to have you back with us, Bon."

"You gave us all quite a scare, Kurosaki-kun." Tatsumi used his free hand to adjust his glasses before returning Watari's squeeze by squeezing the scientist's shoulder. Hisoka felt Tsuzuki pull him back again and he met the amethyst orbs still full of tears.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Hisoka! I almost died a second time." Hisoka opened his mouth to mutter an apology, but no sound came out. He let out a silent curse again as he remembered the collar. "What's up, Hisoka? Why won't you say anything?" Hisoka pointed to the collar around his neck.

"Bon? Is something wrong with your neck?" Watari came over leaking worry. Hisoka slammed up his mental shields and continued to point to the collar. Why weren't they getting the message? Tsuzuki's hand reached up to where Hisoka was pointing and the empath was shocked when he felt the older man's hand on his skin.

"Hisoka?" The worry radiated and soon Hisoka lost himself in it. It took him only a few seconds to realize that he was synchronizing with his partner. That would help with his communication problem. "_Hisoka? We're synchronizing. Is that okay?_" Hisoka nodded his head and continued. "_Okay. What is wrong? Why won't you say anything?_"

"_There's a collar. Muraki put some sort of collar on me that prevents me from making any noise from my throat. Just take that off and I can talk again._" He felt Tsuzuki's hand on his throat again and he swallowed as he felt Tsuzuki's confusion, worry, fear, and sorrow. With a small mental sigh he met his partner's amethyst eyes. "_There is no collar, is there?_" Tsuzuki shook his head and pulled the empath into his arms again.

"_It'll be all right, Hisoka. We'll fix it. Watari's got to have something on that computer of his and if not I'm sure there's something in the library._" With the lack of shields Hisoka could feel not only the warm feelings of comfort, but also Tsuzuki's fear that what he was saying might not be true. When he added that on top of his own worry he found himself ready to cry. He fought the tears by returning the older man's hug and shoving his face into his shoulder.

"Bon? Tsuzuki? Is everything all right?" Watari's voice pulled them out of their synchronized world. Hisoka fought to maintain a small connection if just to allow him to communicate with his partner.

"Muraki used some sort of collar on Hisoka and now he can't make any sound." Tsuzuki said keeping his arms wrapped around his partner. "He was telling me to remove the collar, but . . . there's nothing there to remove." Guilt began to radiate from his partner and Hisoka quickly reached up a hand and tugged sharply at his ear.

"_Idiot! None of this is your fault!_" Hisoka glared up and kept a firm hold on his partner's ear. "_You blame yourself and you'll wish I could speak so I would chew you out instead of blasting all of this into your mind._"

"_Itai! That was mean, Hisoka. Wait! Why am I still hearing you? We aren't synched anymore._" Hisoka rolled his eyes and tugged at the man's ear again. "_Itai! What was that for? I asked a legitimate question!_" Hisoka narrowed his eyes.

"_This is the only way I can communicate aside from writing notes. I salvaged a link from when we synchronized, idiot. I thought you'd catch on quicker than that._" Tsuzuki rubbed his ear when Hisoka released him. They met with a very confused Watari.

"Sorry 'bout that, Watari." Tsuzuki removed one arm from Hisoka to scratch the back of his head. "Since Hisoka can't speak he kept a link open when we synchronized. Now he and I speak sort of . . . what's the word?" Hisoka sighed.

"You two speak telepathically, Tsuzuki." Tatsumi offered. "I would suggest we interrogate Muraki, however . . ." Tatsumi adjusted his glasses and looked behind his shoulder. "I do not believe there will be much of him left once Narita-chan is finished with him. Her powers could do a lot of damage without actually killing someone."

"_You guys left her alone with Muraki!_" Hisoka practically screamed into Tsuzuki's mind. Tsuzuki winced and turned back to the boy. The empath's eyes were narrowed and a much darker green as he glared up at his older partner.

"Don't worry, Hisoka. Tatsumi restrained him with shadows and Toko-chan was in complete control." As if on cue they all heard an ear-piercing scream. Tatsumi's shields were down in a second and they all looked at Motoko. Both she and Muraki were lying unconscious on the floor. Muraki's body was convulsing.

"_Does that look like she was in complete control?_" Hisoka would have tried to stand, but he knew he wouldn't have the strength. His body was weak from healing all the wounds Muraki inflicted and from the synchronization with Tsuzuki. Reading his thought, Tsuzuki carefully gathered his partner in his arms and carried the empath over. Watari was checking Motoko while Tatsumi examined Muraki.

"We'll take Narita-chan back to the infirmary and leave the doctor where someone can find him." Tatsumi said as he stood up. Hisoka huffed.

"_Someone will find him here. Let's just leave him._" Tsuzuki nodded and repeated that sentiment to the others. Watari agreed, but Tatsumi adjusted his glasses and let out a sigh.

"I was referring to placing him where we can keep an eye on him. If he manages to survive this, we will have a way of knowing." Watari agreed as he scooped up the young shinigami. "You four go on ahead to Meifu. I will take care of the doctor." Tsuzuki didn't need to be told twice. After nodding he teleported to the infirmary and set Hisoka down on a bed. Watari appeared a few second behind and placed Motoko on another bed.

"Watari, do you know what is wrong or what she even tried to do?" Tsuzuki asked, refusing to leave Hisoka's side. He gripped the empath's hand and sat down on the edge of the bed. Hisoka was grateful for the contact because it made maintaining their link easier.

"I don't know, Tsuzuki. We'll just have to see when she wakes up. I'm fairly sure that she will so don't worry about that. How's Bon doing?" Both men turned their attention to Hisoka who shrugged.

"_I'm just tired . . . and frustrated._" Tsuzuki laughed and repeated the sentence word-for-word and Watari laughed as well. Hisoka felt a sense of relief from Tsuzuki. He narrowed his eyes at the two. "_What's so funny, Tsuzuki?_" Tsuzuki ruffled Hisoka's hair with his free hand and continued to laugh.

:points: Ha! Look, no cliffhanger! Sure there are questions to be answered, but if there weren't questions then it would be the end. :smiles: You forgive me for the cliffhangers, right::puppy dog eyes:

Hisoka: I don't think we should. :glare:

K: What! But I didn't make a cliffhanger and I updated quick **_AND_** I apologized for it.

Tsuzuki: I forgive you, but only 'cause I got my 'Soka-chan back::glomps Hisoka:

K: Thank you, Tsuzuki-nii. :shifty eyes: . . .

Tatsumi::appears:

K::glomps Tatsumi: Yay! Tatsumi-san!

Hisoka::shakes head: You're an idiot.

Operation: Rescue Hisoka! – Success . . . yes it is::happy dance:


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12-ness! You're all so totally awesome that I just can't help, but write really really quickly. :pause: I finally am getting started on Tsusoka-ness. Be proud of me and let me know what you think. On with Chapter 12

"Bon, there isn't anything wrong with your throat other than you can't make any sound, is there?" Watari asked as he set himself down in a stool set up between Hisoka and Motoko's bed. Tsuzuki was sitting on the other side of the bed with his hand still holding Hisoka's. The empath shook his head.

"_I just feel like that collar is still there. I don't know why, though. I know it isn't._" Tsuzuki repeated the thought to Watari who gave them a serious look. Tsuzuki gave the hand he was holding a slight squeeze and pushed comforting thoughts to Hisoka through the link they had created.

"We don't know what Muraki did to you, Bon. If Motoko did what I think she did then we will not be able to get any information out of him about it either." He gave the two partners a sad smile. "On the bright side, it doesn't seem to be affecting anything other than your ability to speak. You might just have to cope with being mute, but . . . " The scientist shrugged his shoulders. "It could be much worse than that." Tsuzuki squeezed the hand and tugged slightly to get Hisoka's attention.

"You're with us now and that's all that matters. We'll work around this collar thing, no problem. We've already got communication down pretty good." He smiled a genuine smile and turned to Watari. "And if it isn't doing anything else, then we can leave it be." Watari nodded to assure them that the collar wasn't doing any more damage.

"_I don't like it._" Hisoka stared down at the foot of the bed. Tsuzuki was ready to glomp the empath, but managed to hold back. He had sounded just like a little kid in his mind and that was almost too cute to stand. "_I don't want to depend on someone else like this. It's nothing personal, Tsuzuki._" The empath quickly added as he felt the sadness come from his partner. "_I hate being weak. I hate not being able to fend for myself._" Tsuzuki made eye contact with Watari and the scientist left.

"Hisoka, you aren't weak. I think I would be freaking out right now if I was in your position." When this didn't make the empath look up Tsuzuki tried another tactic. "We can always work on sign language. It'll be a way for you to communicate with others so you don't have to rely on me, if that'll make you feel better. I'm sure Watari, Tatsumi, and the others would be happy to learn as well." He beamed when Hisoka looked back up at him. "There are a large group of people that know sign language, so you won't be lost on a case either." Hisoka hesitated for a second before squeezing his partner's hand.

"_Thank you, Tsuzuki._" There was a slightly pink tinge to the boy's cheeks and he looked down at the hand he was holding. "_If you don't mind . . . can we still talk like this? It's close to normal conversation and . . ._"

"Of course we can, Hisoka!" The older man exclaimed. "I like talking with you like this. I feel special 'cause I'm the only one that can actually hear what you are saying." Tsuzuki radiated happiness and Hisoka felt his face flush to a bright red. "I almost forgot. Toko-chan and I took good care of him while you were gone." Tsuzuki jumped up, releasing the empath's hand and rushed over to the table.

"_What are you talking about, Tsuzuki?_" Hisoka moved to get up, but Tsuzuki whirled around before he could. In his hands was the kitten from his house. The empath felt his face flush again and he looked at the corner of the room. "_Where did you get that?_" His eyes were narrowed slightly as if the corner was what had outed him.

"Promise you won't get mad, but . . ." Tsuzuki gently held the cat as he spoke. "When you disappeared I went to find you. I was searching your house for the third time when I saw him. I remember the day I gave him to you." He looked down at the cat as the memory came back to him. "Well, Toko-chan and I took good care of him so we could give him back to you." The older man walked over to the bed and set the cat on Hisoka's head. "Did you ever give him a name?" Hisoka blushed and refused to meet his partner's eyes. Tsuzuki was about to give up on getting an answer when there was a soft whisper in his mind.

"_It's Ryuji."_ Hisoka's eyes were once again focused on the foot of the bed. Tsuzuki, who knew his partner well enough, knew that he was hiding a huge blush. He smiled and decided to make it ever worse. In a matter of seconds, Hisoka was surrounded by Tsuzuki's arms and crushed into the older shinigami's chest.

"You're soooooo cute, 'Soka-chan!" Hisoka struggled to get free, but found the arms holding him to be too strong and he just didn't have enough energy. After a few minutes of the bone-crushing hug, Tsuzuki loosened his hold just enough to allow the empath to breath properly without allowing him to free himself. "Listen, Hisoka. Um . . . Ryuji and I sort of created a bond and I was wondering if I could come over and visit him more often." Tsuzuki looked down at the kitten sitting on his partner's head, hoping slightly that the boy didn't see through his lame excuse and yet, half hoping that he did.

"_You can take him home if you want. I'm sure you'll take better care of him than I have._" Hisoka said without looking up. Tsuzuki shook his head and pushed the boy back at arms' length.

"I don' wanna take him from you. Ryuji is yours I just wanna be able to visit more often. Is that okay?" Hisoka met Tsuzuki's amethyst eyes and his face flushed. Right then, Tsuzuki was sure that Hisoka had seen through the excuse.

"_Sure. I'm sure Ryuji would be happy to see you more often._" The empath's face turned a deeper red that spread across his entire face and moved to his ears. Tsuzuki smiled and nodded his head.

"Then it's decided. I'll come over to visit Ryuji more. Maybe we can even have sleepovers." Tsuzuki wouldn't have believed his partner's face could have gotten redder if he hadn't seen it happen with his own eyes. "Ryuji can come over to my house to visit, too." Hisoka nodded slightly, still refusing to meet his partner's eyes. "Then it's settled." There was a small period of silence before Tsuzuki spoke again. "Hisoka . . . why did you disappear in the first place?" Hisoka froze and his eyes shot over to Motoko who was still lying unconscious on the bed.

"_I panicked. Motoko told me that when she got sucked into my mind she found out everything about me. Things I've told you, things I haven't, even things that I don't remember._" Tsuzuki gave him a small smile and pulled him into a loose hug. Hisoka didn't protest. He was too busy working through what happened in his mind. "_I just panicked and had to get away. I'm sorry, Tsuzuki. I know it was childish._"

"It's okay, Hisoka." Tsuzuki was ready to squeal like a schoolgirl. Hisoka had never been this open with him before. He wondered, slightly if it was the link that was allowing it, but quickly pushed that thought out of his mind. "We're all allowed to be childish when things like that happen. Plus, you've been enough of an adult for the both of us. You were due to act like a child. You're not to blame so don't be so hard on yourself." Hisoka pushed back with narrowed eyes. "What?"

"_Hypocrite. You are such a hypocrite, Tsuzuki_." The older man just smiled and pulled Hisoka back into his chest. The empath struggled with how to explain his thoughts to Tsuzuki. He settled on a rather strange tactic. "_Ryuji says you shouldn't be such a hypocrite._" Tsuzuki stopped hugging him and looked down at Hisoka. His eyes were focused on his own hands and his face was bright red. The angle of his head forced the kitten's eyes to meet with Tsuzuki's. "_Ryuji knows that you're blaming yourself as much as I am and you should take your own advice._" Tsuzuki raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Well, Ryuji tells me that you're being just as stubborn as I am about this whole thing. Why don't we agree that it is all that bastard Muraki's fault and leave it at that?" Hisoka nodded his head. "Good. Is Ryuji really okay? He went through a whole lot today." Again, the empath nodded his head.

"_Ryuji wants to know about you._" Tsuzuki smiled and gently ran his hand through the empath's hair, careful of the kitten on his head. Hisoka was sure that all of the blood in his body was now in his face.

"I'm fine, now. I was so scared, Hisoka. I thought you were gonna leave me. I don't ever want to go through that again." He squeezed the empath in his arms tightly as if to reinforce that he was actually there. "I was so worried."

"_Ryuji says he's sorry, idiot._" Tsuzuki smiled. This form of communication was simply adorable and he squeezed his partner even tighter. It allowed Hisoka to stay himself, while still letting Tsuzuki know what he was feeling. It was the empath's way of opening up and Tsuzuki found it absolutely adorable.

"I accept Ryuji's apology and want to know if he and Hisoka are hungry. We all missed dinner and I'm sure that white chocolate wasn't enough to hold you until now." Hisoka nodded. "Great. I'll go get us something to eat. I'm sure Wakaba-chan would be happy to cook something for you." He released his partner and stood up from the bed. Hisoka looked absolutely adorable with the kitten sitting on his head and the slight pink tinge still on his face. Tsuzuki couldn't help himself as he leaned forward and kissed Hisoka gently on the cheek. Before the empath could react Tsuzuki was out the door in search of food.

Kawaii::squeals: I actually know someone that speaks through their stuffed animals. I just couldn't see Hisoka opening up suddenly like that so I decided to use Ryuji to open him up a bit.

Hisoka: . . . :glares:

Tsuzuki: Um . . . Hisoka says that speaking through a kitten is strange.

K::sticks out tongue: It's too cute not to do.

Hisoka: . . . :glares:

Tsuzuki: Um . . . :really nervous: He's going into detail of how he plans on killing you, K-chan. I would think of running now.

K::hides behind Tatsumi: Hide me, Tatsumi-san! If 'Soka-chan kills me this story will never be finished. :cowers:


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13! You all are so amazing. I love you all soo much::hugs: I feel the love here. :smiles: I know that was bad, but I really feel loved. I'll give you this next chapter to show how much I love you all. Two chapters in one update. Feel lucky?

"Kurosaki-kun, how are you feeling?" Hisoka jumped as he heard Tatsumi's voice coming from the door. The secretary simply stood there waiting for some sort of reply. Hisoka shrugged to indicate he was fine. Tatsumi nodded and moved to sit in the stool between the two beds. "Where is Tsuzuki?" Hisoka motioned to the pen and pad of paper sitting on one of Watari's cabinets. Tatsumi retrieved it for him and the empathy quickly wrote out his explanation.

"**_He went to find some food._**" Tatsumi adjusted his glasses as he read what the boy had written. He nodded his head, expecting something like that. "**_Where's Muraki?_**" Tatsumi froze, but the only sign of that was that his hand was still resting on his glasses.

"We had found a friend of his in an earlier investigation so I left him with them. It seems as though he will not be able to function without the assistance of another." Hisoka nodded and that was when Tatsumi noticed the kitten sitting on his head. He quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing. Before Tatsumi could say anything, Tsuzuki rushed in carrying a bowl and a basket.

"Here you go, 'Soka-chan! Wakaba-chan made it 'specially for you. You and Ryuji eat up." Hisoka's face turned a bright red as he set down the paper and took the bowl from Tsuzuki. "Hello, Tatsumi." He caught sight of the paper between the two of them. "Having a good conversation with 'Soka-chan?"

"_Tatsumi was telling me what had happened to Muraki._" Tsuzuki tilted his head to the side and sent a curious look to Tatsumi before setting the bowl down in front of the empath. He looked down at the bowl and paused. A slight pink tinge came over his face and he refused to make eye contact. "_Ryuji likes stew._" Tsuzuki couldn't resist. He squealed and hugged his partner's shoulders. Tatsumi watched with a raised eyebrow, but decided not to comment. "_Tsuzuki. Tatsumi was explaining that Muraki will not be able to function on his own._" The elder shinigami sobered suddenly and looked over to Tatsumi.

"So Muraki won't be a threat any more?" Tsuzuki asked placing his head on the mute empath's shoulder. Tatsumi noted that the intimate gesture went unprotected though the empath's already pink face became slightly darker. He adjusted his glasses to hide a small smile.

"He is no longer a threat, though we will be keeping an eye on him." Both partners let out a sigh of relief though Tsuzuki's just about drowned out his partner's. "Unfortunately, this means that we will be unable to get information about your condition from him, Kurosaki-kun." Hisoka shrugged.

"As long as that bastard's dead I guess I can handle being mute." Tsuzuki repeated this to Tatsumi with a smile on his face. The secretary caught Hisoka's eyes and determined that was, in fact, what the young empath had said and gave him a warm look.

"I should let you rest." Tatsumi stood up and prepared to leave, but stopped when Hisoka grabbed the pad of paper and pen. He wrote a quick note without Tsuzuki seeing and passed it to the secretary. As he read, Tatsumi adjusted his glasses. "Kurosaki-kun . . ." He ripped off the page and tucked it into the inner pocket of his suit coat. The empathy sent him a challenging look before the secretary walked out.

"Ne, Hisoka. What was all that?" He ignored his elder partner and turned his attention to the stew that had been set in front of him. As he ate, Tsuzuki began to whine. "'Soka-chan, what did you write? Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me." Tsuzuki continued this and gripped his shoulders tighter.

"_I am not going to tell you so you can save the energy. Besides, you're starting to give me a headache._" Tsuzuki stopped, but gave him the 'kicked puppy' look. Add that to the guilt suddenly leaking through the link and Hisoka was starting to feel really bad. He ate his stew and hid a slight blush as he sent the next thought. "_Ryuji says he's sorry, but he's really tired_." Tsuzuki looked up with a small smile on his face.

"Then Ryuji needs to get some sleep, but only after he finishes dinner." The elder shinigami then dug into the basket of sweets he had brought for himself. After a few minutes of eating in silence Tsuzuki looked back up at his partner. "Are you all right, Hisoka? I mean . . . you've been through a lot today."

"_I'm fine. I don't need to be babied._" Came the slightly irritated reply. Tsuzuki quickly realized his mistake. Hisoka couldn't be weak. He couldn't act like a child. Ryuji, however, he could be and he could both act like a child and express his feelings.

"I didn't mean it that way. You're all right, then how about Ryuji? He's been through a lot too." Hisoka set the spoon in the now empty bowl and set it on the table between the beds.

"_Ryuji says he's in shock. Too much has happened for him to understand it all. He thinks it'll hit him all tomorrow or maybe the day after that._" The slight tinge of pink crossed the empath's face and Tsuzuki realized it was from speaking of the kitten. He thought it was adorable. There was silence in the air as Tsuzuki thought about how cute Hisoka was. Hisoka was considering something else. He carefully plucked the kitten off his head and held it lightly. "_Um . . . Ryuji wants to know if you'll stay with him tonight. He . . . he doesn't want to be alone._" Tsuzuki smiled and ruffled the blond's hair.

"Tell Ryuji that I wouldn't dream of leaving him alone. I wouldn't leave even if he told me to." With that, Tsuzuki grabbed the stool Tatsumi had been sitting on and moved it to the side of the bed to sit. "I'm gonna stay right here until morning. I promise I won't leave without telling Ryuji." He took one of Hisoka's hands and gripped it turning up to the boy with a bright smile.

"_Ryuji is really grateful._" Hisoka then sat back in the bed and, as if to prove how tired he was, he allowed Tsuzuki to tuck him in. The elder shinigami never let go of the hand he had taken as the two of them drifted off to sleep.

I'm really worried about the Ryuji thing, but . . . I just can't see Hisoka opening up without some outlet and he did get the idea from Tsuzuki. He blushes every time he does it so he isn't used to it right away. Let me know what you think.

K: Sorry, no dialogue. This chapter took a lot of work. I rewrote it seven times and then went back and fixed things. It took soo much work 'cause the Ryuji thing is sitting funny with me. I like the idea, but I don' know how people are going to react to it.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14! You guy's support is so amazing. I don't think you all understand how happy you all make me. To my faithful reviewers who give me something after every update I love you all! You all make me feel so happy::bows: Thanks so much. Watari and Tatsumi talk. Hope you all enjoy.

Tatsumi walked out of the infirmary with the paper in his pocket. In his opinion, Hisoka was pushing his luck. The words on the page flashed back into his mind. "**_Just tell him already._**" Despite the cryptic message, Tatsumi understood it.

"You're back!" Watari's excited voice pulled him out of his thoughts. The scientist was standing right in front of him with a bright smile on his face. "Since you're coming from the direction of the infirmary, I assume you've spoken with Bon and Tsuzuki. Well?" When Tatsumi said nothing the scientist elaborated. "What's the deal? Do you know what Motoko did? If I know what she did I might be able to figure out what happened to her. Tatsumi adjusted his glasses causing Watari to take a step back.

"It seems that she has damaged much of the tissue in the frontal lobe and all, but removed his amygdala. I am not completely sure, but I believe she may have damaged some of his motor skills as well." Watari considered what he had heard. "We will be unable to get information from him about Kurosaki-kun's condition."

"Did you tell this to Bon?" Tatsumi nodded his head slightly. The motion would have gone unnoticed if Watari hadn't spent so much time observing the secretary's movements. "How'd he take it?"

"He told Tsuzuki that as long as the doctor was no longer a threat he could handle being mute." The statement hinted at Tatsumi's uncertainty of the truth of this. "He seems to be able to communicate with Tsuzuki with no problems so it shouldn't be a problem in the future."

"We should start using sign language. I'm sure Bon would like to be able to communicate on his own. He's always trying to prove his independence." He gave the secretary a lopsided grin. "Besides, it's not a bad skill to learn. If we ever had to deal with a deaf spirit or something we'd be in real trouble."

"I'll submit the request to Konoe." Tatsumi said as he adjusted his glasses again. Watari caught the movement and turned his head to the side. A worried look replaced the grin he wore earlier.

"Something wrong, Tatsumi?" The secretary raised an eyebrow. "Well, you just seem a bit more agitated than usual. Did something happen while you were speaking with Bon and Tsuzuki?" Tatsumi could have sworn he wasn't that readable. It seemed that only Tsuzuki had no clue as to the secretary's thoughts. "The two of them are getting much closer." Tatsumi removed his glasses and began cleaning them.

"It seems as though this incident has changed something in them. Tsuzuki doesn't hesitate to embrace Kurosaki-kun and Kurosaki-kun does not resist as much. I believe the entire time I spoke with the two of them Tsuzuki was attached to him." Watari laughed.

"So it would seem. I was hoping to be able to run some tests on him to make absolutely sure the collar wasn't doing him any harm, but . . ." The scientist shrugged. "I guess I'll stick with researching what could have happened to Motoko." Tatsumi replaced his glasses and looked at the scientist.

"We've had a long day. Go on ahead home." Before Watari could do anything he brushed past the scientist and made his way to his office. Watari, not able to stand Tatsumi not being himself, followed right behind him.

"Who are you and what the hell have you done with Tatsumi?" The scientist said with a strangely serious look on his face. "Tatsumi would never let anyone go home early, much less me. Especially when I've got so much work to do." Tatsumi ignored him and continued walking. Noticing this, Watari stepped in front of him with his hands on his hips. "Talk to me, Seiichiro." The blond's eyes were narrowed anf dilled with both anger and worry.

"Can you just take something like this without a complaint?" Tatsumi said narrowing his eyes. The look on his face would have instilled fear into the scientist if he hadn't been determined to figure out why the man was acting so out of character.

"No. I can't because I know there has to be something bothering you. You've been on edge for a while now, ever since Bon and Tsuzuki started getting closer." Watari folded his arms across his chest and met the secretary's eyes completely. His determination was the only thing that kept him from losing his nerves right then. "You don't talk to anyone about anything personal. You just let things build up. That isn't healthy, Seiichiro." Tatsumi narrowed his eyes even more at the use of his first name.

"Watari, just go home. We are all very stressed with everything that has happened today. Get some rest and come back once your head clears." With that, he pushed past the scientist and stormed into his office. Watari threw his hands up in the air and stormed off into his lab. Both doors slammed at the same time.

It ended in a fight . . . I didn't mean for that to happen, but Tatsumi-san has a mind of his own when I write sometimes. A few random dialogues that I have written prove that.

Tatsumi::adjusts glasses: K-san.

K: Tatsumi-san::glomps: Trust me. I'd help it if I could. Tatsumi-san's my favorite character. Right up there with Tsuzuki-nii and Hisoka.

Motoko: What about me::puppy dog eyes:

K: You're my O.C.! You're place is even more special. You're like my baby. :hugs:

Tatsumi: Shouldn't you be starting your work on the next chapter::adjusts glasses:

K: Slave driver::glomps: I've been working really hard. I promise. Forgive me for some of the typos I've made. I tend to forget to go back and look at the chapter after I finish with it and my computer likes to change things.

Tatsumi: You mean that when you try to type 'empath' your computer automatically changes it to 'emapthy' and you don't always catch it. :narrows eyes: You are getting lazy.

K: I know. I know. Don't be mad at me. I can't catch everything. I'm only human. I'll see you next chapter. Zai jian (Oh, that's Chinese for 'see you again')


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15::hyperventilates: So many reviews! So much support! OMG! I never thought I'd see this. I hope I keep you all happy with my progress. I've been taking some of the advice coming my way.

Oh, NaTsUkO-ChAn mentioned something about Motoko acting young and that it was just a habit she couldn't break. Since she looks like a seven-year-old she has to act like one in the human world. It's not really a habit as much as she was never allowed to mentally grow up. It's not really a habit as much as she's always going to act like a little kid. There are moments when her chronological age shows, like when she attacked Muraki or when she gets really serious, but for the most part she'll always be a seven-year-old child. Sorry, but it was a detail that took me a long time to work through in my mind. On with the chapter!

"My little doll, did you really think you could escape me that easily?" Hisoka shivered as he stared at the doctor standing in front of him. He found himself hanging in the same place he had been before, his curse marks flaring and the dull ache of them and his collar digging through his mind. "Did you really think a child could damage me?" The sadistic smile was on his face again. "I'll have to remind you of just how alive I am." Hisoka could feel the pain as the knife was drug across his chest.

"_This is just a dream. It can't be real. Tatsumi said he was gone and wasn't a threat anymore._" The knife dug in a bit deeper and he felt the pain connect with his curse marks. They flared in response and he felt the pain run through his entire body.

"Tsuzuki-san isn't going to be able to save you from this. You are trapped here with me, my little doll. I shall have to teach you a lesson for being such a bad doll." The sadistic smile grew and the knife dug still deeper. Hisoka was sure if he had been alive he wouldn't have been able to survive this. If it hadn't been for the collar he would have let out a cry of pain. Instead he made the attempt only to push air through his throat.

"_Tsuzuki!_" He bolted up in the bed gasping for air. The small kitten in his arms brought a sense of relief and he hugged it to his chest. When he searched the room he found Tsuzuki sleeping peacefully in the stool with his head resting on the bed. Hisoka pushed his bangs off of his forehead. '_It was only a dream._" Almost as if to prove him wrong, a pang of pain came from his chest. He looked down to see the wounds from his dream finish healing. "_What the hell!_" Tsuzuki started and was awake in two seconds. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and looked up at Hisoka.

"What's up, Hisoka?" He sat up and reached up to feel the empath's forehead. "Why are you so sweaty? Did you have a bed dream?" Hisoka looked up to meet Tsuzuki's eyes and nodded slightly. His face turned a slight shade of pink and he clutched the kitten in his hands tighter. "Hisoka?" Everything Hisoka had gone through the day before, the dream and the lingering injuries built up and Hisoka couldn't hold it back anymore. Tsuzuki caught sight of a few tears falling to the bed from Hisoka's face. "Hisoka? What's wrong?"

"_I-i-idiot! Th-there isn't anything wrong._" He hunched over and tried to curl into a ball. Tsuzuki shook his head and brought an arm around the empath's shoulders. He put up his strongest shields to prevent him from being overloaded with emotions.

"Sure. There is nothing wrong." He placed a hand under his chin and forced Hisoka to look up at him. "Tell me, Hisoka." Hisoka pulled his face away and clutched the cat in his arms tighter. Tsuzuki held in a sigh and gently rubbed the empath's back. Hoping if he was patient enough his partner would give in. Hisoka shook his head and looked up at Tsuzuki. The tears were gone and it looked as if they hadn't been there in the first place.

"_Idiot. I said there was nothing wrong._" Tsuzuki gave him a small sad smile, then moved his hand to his head and ruffled his hair. "_Get off!_" He ducked away from his partner's hand. His hand moved up to shove Tsuzuki away when a sudden wave of despair hit his empathy. The hand instead came up with his other to his head. The emotion was strong and unrelenting. After a few seconds self-loathing, fear, betrayal, and loss of hope joined it and Hisoka was praying he blacked out soon.

"Hisoka! What's wrong?" Tsuzuki looked down as Hisoka clutched his head and curled into a ball on the bed. Through their mental link he could hear a soft whimper of pain. "Hisoka? Should I get Watari!" Tsuzuki rushed off to find the scientist, unsure of whether he would still be in the office.

Hisoka was doing all he could to force his shields up, but the emotions continued to get stronger and were forcing back what little resistance he could muster. Images started being forced into his mind. He felt his consciousness slip and seen he felt like what he was seeing was only a dream.

Short, I know, but I had to cut it off here. The chapter will most likely be in Motoko's POV, but I'll warn you in the beginning.

Tatsumi::adjusts glasses: You are getting lazy.

K: You're just upset because you and Watari are having a fight right now.

Tsuzuki: Is Hisoka going to be all right? What's happening? Why are you being so mean to me::cries:

K::pats head: Don't worry. I'll update real soon. :goes to work on next chapter:


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16! You're all so nice to me. :smiles: Here is a bit of Motoko-chan's past. It's sort of from her POV. Please continue to review. Reviews keep me inspired to finish this story.

She curled up in a ball as the stick was brought down. The beatings always came everyday and almost at the same time. Her father, her brother, a few times it was even her mother and sister. It wasn't always with a stick either. It was her brother this time and his favorite weapon was the stick. It might have hurt more physically, but she preferred the stick. When they used their fists she couldn't help, but go into their minds. Her mind was swimming in their hatred of her, their fear.

She couldn't remember a time when it wasn't like this. Her telepathy came at a very early age. None of them knew, but she was reading minds before she could talk. When she was finally able it didn't take long for them to discover her powers. From then on it was much like this. They hated her for her powers. It was almost impossible for her not to lose herself in the hatred. What was worse about it was that no matter what she did there was no pleasing them.

"You. Read that person's mind and tell us if he is telling the truth." Her father had demanded one day, pointing out to a man speaking with her mother. He spoke through the wall, refusing to truly acknowledge her presence. The thoughts had come easily and before he had demanded her to divulge them.

"He just wants our money and Nee-san." She had replied in a meek voice, praying that they would accept her if she was such an asset to them. Her father walked away without a word. After a few hours of solitude her sister came to visit. "Nee-san, what happened to the bad man?"

"I am not your sister." She spit back at the young five-year-old. "You were wrong about him, too. He comes from a very prominent family. He is going to marry me and give me the life that I deserve." This evolved into a beating. Her sister always threw rocks or other things at her. It was so impersonal, but she preferred it to her parents. The contempt was so overwhelming as her father's fists connected with her small frame.

She was amazed that she survived at all. Her parents had locked her in a closet and would feed her only once a day and sometimes would even forget that. All of these thoughts swirling around her head she realized that she was just as they said. She was a monster, a freak and that was never going to change.

That was when she noticed the piece of glass. It was from a vase her mother had broken over her head during one of her sessions, as she called them now. It would be so easy. During her beatings she had noticed that her neck was a very sensitive place and that when threatening to just kill her there her father had held knives up to her neck. That was all she needed to do. She just had to finish it where he left off. At the age of seven years Motoko Nartia slit her own throat and died.

She woke from what seemed like a slumber and looked at her surroundings. She was still in the closet, but what caught her attention was the body lying next to her. "_I finally did it. They can finally be free of me. If I stay here, like this, I can watch them and even pretend that maybe I was actually part of this family._" She thought as she carefully stood up.

"That monster is usually whining about hunger around now. I guess you should go feed it." She heard her father's voice and the contempt in it was no surprise. What caught her off guard was the fact that he was reminding someone to feed her. She moved through the door to see the family sitting at the dinner table. There was still an empty chair where she would have sat if she had been part of the family. With a slight hesitation she moved over and took her place in the chair.

"I don't see why I have to feed it everyday. Tetsuya, you go feed it." Her mother turned to her brother and tossed the small portion of food that Motoko remembered having to eat everyday. Tetsuya mumbled and grumbled, but took the food to the closet. Motoko watched as he opened the door and threw the plate in, not even looking before slamming the door closed.

"You really shouldn't be here." A voice behind her caused her to jump off her chair. She turned to find the source of the voice and found an older man. He had graying hair and thick glasses. Standing next to him was a younger looking man with brown hair and bright purple eyes. "Will you come with us?" The girl shook her head and ducked down in her chair.

"If I stay here I can at least pretend I was part of the family. I wanna make sure they're happy now." The younger man's eyes became very sad and he stepped forward. Motoko sunk further into the chair her blue eyes never leaving the two of them. It didn't even register that her family hadn't seen them.

"You're Motoko-chan, right?" The younger man asked, kneeling down slightly to meet her eyes. She nodded hesitantly. "I'm Tsuzuki and this is my partner Iwasaki. We've come to take you to a better place." Motoko shook her head and her hands clenched the back of the chair.

"I've gotta make sure nothing bad happens." Her eyes dulled and she looked down at the floor. "I wasn't able to protect, Nee-san. I don't wanna see anything bad happen to Tatsuya-san, Otou-san or Okaa-san." Iwasaki stepped forward, but Tsuzuki held him back.

"Motoko-chan. You can't stay here. You are no longer living." He moved a bit closer to her. Motoko shook her head, tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

"No, I have to make sure they're okay. I want to know that I was useful at least once to them. They don't even know I'm dead yet. I want to know that they were happy about something that I did." Tsuzuki's eyes darkened as the girl began to cry. "What if we get them to notice? Would you come with us then?" Motoko sniffed and looked up.

"Why can't I just stay here and pretend? I'm not hurting anyone. I promise I won't. I just wanna be part of the family. Just for a little while." Tsuzuki looked back at his partner.

"No way, Tsuzuki-san. First of all, she was supposed to die three years ago and didn't. Second, we are still in so much trouble from the last time you did something like this. The count is going to be all over me if we do this again."

"I'll take the heat for it, Iwasaki. It was all my idea, all my fault and you won't have to do a thing. The count will only punish me for this and if he does anything to you then I'll make it up to you, I promise." Iwasaki threw up his hands in frustration.

"I give up! Fine, do this, but I am not helping you at all!" He glared at the younger man. "I am sick of you always doing this! Consider this our last mission as partners." Tsuzuki stared at him with wide eyes. "I was going to tell you after we finished this. I'm sick and tired of it, Tsuzuki-san. You're always making things harder than it has to be." He let out a sigh. "They've already got your new partner lined up. You'll meet him when you get back." With that he disappeared. Motoko jumped and looked back to Tsuzuki. He gave her a sad smile.

"You sit here while I go to the front door, okay?" Motoko nodded weakly and watched him head for the door. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. Her father grumbled about interruptions and went to get the door. "Hello, I hate to bother you, but I was wondering if you could help me with something. I heard somewhere that you had a daughter who could read minds and . . ." Tsuzuki never finished his statement. Her father slammed the door in his face shouting that his only daughter was gone and completely normal. He rushed to the closet and threw the door open ready to berate the monster.

"You freak, how the hell did you get out and . . ." He trailed off and his eyes opened a bit wider. Motoko sucked in a breath as he closed the door and came back to the table. Tsuzuki appeared next to her. Her father sat down at the table and went back to eating dinner. Nothing else was said. Her mother and brother both went to the closet and peered in. All they did was close the door again and return to their lives.

"I . . . Are they happy, Tsuzuki-nii?" Motoko looked up at Tsuzuki with tears in her eyes. "I did something good for them, right?" Tsuzuki gave her a sad smile. Tears were forming at the corner of his eyes. "Tsuzuki-nii, I did something good, right?" She asked again as she began to cry herself. "I just want to make sure they are happy. Isn't there a way for me to do that?"

"We should be going, Motoko-chan. I'll pull some strings and see if I can't help." He took her hand and she cringed, screamed, and pulled her hand away. "Motoko-chan? What's wrong?"

"It hurts, Tsuzuki-nii. Your thoughts really hurt. Why are you so sad?" She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. He gave her a sad smile.

"It's nothing. Can you hold on long enough for me to teleport you? It shouldn't be more than a second." She sniffed, braced herself and nodded her head. He placed a hand on her shoulder teleported and quickly let go as soon as they were in Meifu.

"Those trees are soo pretty, Tsuzuki-nii! What are they?" The girl's tears quickly dried up and she ran over to the blooming trees. Tsuzuki followed with a sad smile on his face.

"Those are Sakura, Motoko-chan. They have them in the human world as well as her in Meifu." The girl looked up at him with confusion in her eyes. "You're here in Meifu, the land of the dead. It is a reflection of the human world except the Sakura are always in bloom."

"You get to see these pretty trees all the time! That's soo nice. I wish I could." She looked up at the trees in awe. Tsuzuki watched with a small smile on his face. Motoko was getting used to the small dull ache that came with him. She wished she could hug him, but the touch overwhelmed her.

"We can stay here a little longer if you like. The others won't be expecting me back soon. If you want, we can stay here with the trees for a while." Suddenly she began crying. "Eh! Motoko-chan! What did I do!" She shook her head.

"You're being so nice to me. I'm just a monster and I don't deserve to see these trees or to be with someone so nice." She fell to her knees and began rubbing her eyes, though new tears replaced the ones that she rubbed away. Tsuzuki could only watch as the girl cried amidst the Sakura.

I'll leave it there. Please continue to review. I really like them.

Tatsumi: K-san. :glares: You have an English paper to write. :glares:

K::nervous: . . . heh heh . . .

Tsuzuki: You've been writing this instead of your paper this whole time?

K::nervous: . . . well . . . maybe . . .

Hisoka: . . . . :glares:

Tsuzuki: He says that you're an idiot, K-chan.

K::breaks down into tears: I'm sorry!

Tatsumi::drags off to complete paper: You will write your paper. Now. :watches over shoulder:

K::crying, but writing: Please review. English papers are evil. :cries:


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17! This one took longer to write. Blame SMCM. Schoolwork overloaded me. I'm also waaaaaaaay behind in my Fruits Basket fic and have to work some on that. I love all of you that continue to review. :hugs: You're all the bestest! On with the chapter.

Hisoka watched this all unfold in his mind. Her memories were overwhelming and the emotion had knocked him unconscious. It was all like a dream, but he still felt the dull hum of hers and Tsuzuki's emotions. He watched as Motoko went through the bureaucracy of Meifu in order to become a shinigami. How she had to train to create mental shields since control of her powers at such a young age was impossible, her first mission, all of those events.

He watched as she visited her family twice a year to find them moving on without her. There was no funeral and her body was basically thrown into a ditch in the woods. Despite the disrespect to her body, she continued to go. She watched as her brother married and had children of his own. She watched as they grew up, a happy family. It made her heart warm to see that her brother had become a very good father, despite his upbringing.

The memories moved quickly, flooding into Hisoka's mind. He was beginning to lose himself in them when a familiar image drew his attention. From Motoko's point of view it was her niece, but to Hisoka she was called 'mother'. The girl grew and married into the Kurosaki family. Motoko was pleased to see how she seemed to do so well. He watched as Motoko went to see him for the first time when he was an infant. Motoko watched as he was properly cared for and loved. It was too painful.

He was addicted to those memories. Times when is parents had actually cared for him, when they were proud of him. Motoko visited them twice a year. The visits seemed to grow longer and Hisoka was praying they would just end. The next memory of the family was a serious shock for Motoko. Suddenly the love was no longer there. Hisoka was locked in the cellar and referred to as 'monster' and 'demon child'. Hisoka was hit with double the emotions. His at being forced to see this again and Motoko's for watching her horror relived in her great-nephew.

"Hisoka-kun?" Motoko was down in the cellar with Hisoka. She had decided to try to visit with the boy today and not the rest of her family. "_He must be so lonely. I hope he'll let me in_." She thought as she looked down at the boy in the corner. She made herself visible to him, but was keeping an eye out for anyone else. She'd go invisible then. Let him think she was just his imaginary friend. "Hisoka-kun, why are you sad?" Green eyes peered over his knees.

"Who are you? Why are you here? No one's supposed to be in here." He said with a sniff. Motoko took a few steps over and watched as he stiffened. When she saw his fear, she stopped.

"My name is Motoko. I came to play with you." Hisoka pulled his head up from his knees and she saw the tear tracks down his face. "You and I can be secret friends, 'kay?" She said with a smile.

"I'm a monster. You don't want to play with me." The boy said he settled his head back down in his knees. Hisoka didn't remember this. Was this one of those memories that Motoko had said when she meant repressed? Motoko shook her head.

"You're not a monster. You're an empath." Hisoka looked up at her with a confused look on his face. "See, I can hear people's thoughts. You can feel people's emotions. I'm a telepath and you're an empath. We can play together." With that, she moved all the way over to him and sat down in front of him. "I wanna make you something." The boy looked up over his knees and watched her draw on a piece of paper.

"What's that?" The green-eyes asked, though the question was never actually verbalized. Motoko had let down her shields slightly to hear his thoughts. Imaginary friends were sculpted by the mind and Hisoka was projecting like mad. His shields were nonexistent and he was trying so hard to keep a hold on his self that it was being projected for any with empath or telepath to pick up.

Hisoka shut out the rest of the memory. He remembered it on his own. She had come and visited with him every day for a week and just when he was getting used to her presence she said that she couldn't come everyday anymore. The memories came back and hurt. Sure she had told him why she couldn't come, but it still hurt. He understood it even better now, but it was the one person he had opened up to in his childhood.

The memories continued and soon she was forbidden to ever see him again because she was interfering with the life of someone. He watched as she visited every year and watched him with sad eyes. After every visit she begged someone to do something in Meifu. Something to prevent him from going through all of this, but no one did anything. She visited him in the hospital when he became sick and found that he had passed away. With a defeated sigh, she left and resolved never to visit her family again.

Hisoka sifted through the memories searching for some of the happier ones. If he was going to be stuck in her mind he might as well go through it like she could his. He was sure that was what she had been forced to do as his memories flooded her mind.

At first, Tsuzuki was barely there. A call or a messenger bird, visits were too painful for Motoko. She worked hard on her shielding and soon Tsuzuki was making visits as often as they could. She met all of his partners until the last few years. He saw the day she had found out about becoming their partner.

"Tsuzuki-nii! You never call me anymore and you haven't visited for a while. What's up?" She was on the phone in her apartment, she was allowed to be on her own when she turned 18, though her partner tended to keep a close eye on her.

"Toko-chan! I know, I'm sorry. I've been really busy with Hisoka." The girl raised an eyebrow at the new name. "I haven't told you about him, yet, have I?" She shook her head, but said 'no' into the phone since he couldn't see her. "He's my new partner. Kurosaki Hisoka. He died when he was 16 and became a shinigami. He's been my partner since then and it's been almost a year now!" Tsuzuki sounded so excited.

"That's so amazing, Tsuzuki-nii! This is the longest anyone has lasted, isn't it?" She listened as he agreed over the phone. Hisoka rolled his eyes at how excited his idiot partner was. "You two are getting along, then, aren't you?"

"Nope. He's always yelling at me and calling me an idiot. I annoy him to no end and he's always mean to me." Motoko stared at the phone for a second before putting it back up to her ear.

"They why do you sound so happy about it?" Hisoka wondered that as well, as he watched this unfold. Tsuzuki laughed. "Tsuzuki-nii? Have you lost your mind?"

"I've gone senile, didn't you know?" He said jokingly. "But really. You'll find out about it soon enough. I heard that Sakura wants to move on." Motoko nodded sadly. "You're looking for a new partner, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Sakura-nee finally realized that her family was doing all right with her gone and she realized that she, well, needed to move on. I'll miss her, but I figured she wouldn't last long. Her family was happy." There was a small sad smile on her face that reflected back into her tone.

"Don't worry about it, Toko-chan. I guess I can give you the good news now." Tsuzuki said with a bright cheery voice that seemed to brighten the girl's mood slightly. "Guess who just got the approval for a second partner?" Motoko said nothing and barely managed to keep her hold on the phone. "You're gonna partner up with me 'n' 'Soka-chan!" Hisoka winced at the nickname, but since this was a memory he said nothing in response.

"Really? That's awesome, Tsuzuki-nii! I'd hug you right now, but we're on the phone." She giggled and jumped up and down. Tsuzuki seemed just as giddy and laughed.

"Then you'll have to give me an uber big hug when I see you next." The laughing and the vision in the memory seemed to fade away. Hisoka felt a tugging at his mind and his mind slowly became his own, Motoko's memories, sorted and processed, returned to the girl's mind, leaving Hisoka to his own thoughts. Darkness took over and he was relieved to finally be free of the intrusion into his mind.

Poor poor Hisoka. :pats head: I've put him through so much.

Hisoka::threatens to kill with eyes:

Tsuzuki: You don't want to know the details he's going into. :sweatdrop:

K: Heh heh. I'll make it up to you. I promise. Kill me now and you won't know what I have in store to make it up to you. :nervous:

Hisoka::glaring still:

Tsuzuki: Um . . . he's wondering whether it outweighs the benefits of killing you now . . .

K::hides behind Tatsumi: Ah! But I won't be able to finish the fic if you do that. I promise to make it up to you . . . just don't kill meeeee. :cries:

Tatsumi::pats head apathetically:

K: I'll update as soon as I update my Fruits Basket fic . . . Apparently, I'm on somebody's hit list since I haven't updated in a while . . . :scratches head: Heh heh . . . :bows: Gomen nasai.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18! I know it took me way too long to get this one out, but I had the worst case of writers block I have ever had in my life. I couldn't write anything and that included things for school. :cries: It was soooo bad. You'll forgive me, right? I'll try to go back to my other schedule since writers block is over. Here's the chapter . . .

Tsuzuki looked down, relief filling him as the empath opened his eyes. The vibrant green he was used to seeing cold and angry were sad and slightly confused at his position. Before anything could be said Tsuzuki pulled his partner into a huge bear hug. "Thank goodness!" He exclaimed as he held the empath tighter. "You scared me to death. I was so worried when you just blacked out like that. Then you started convulsing and . . . and . . . but you're okay now!" His arms tightened as if to reassure him that his partner was indeed all right.

"_Idiot. I can't breath!_" Hisoka struggled against the arms, but they only tighten in response. "_Tsuzuki! I can't breath!_" He projected his struggle through the link he had created. That was when the arms loosened, but only enough to keep him from suffocating. He was still unable to completely free himself from the embrace.

"Sorry, Hisoka. I was just worried. What happened! Are you all right now?" The worry gave him a slight headache though he wasn't sure if it was the worry or simply the strength of the feeling.

"_I'm fine, idiot._" Hisoka looked away and continued to struggle in the arms. "_Let me go. I'm just fine now so get off._" Tsuzuki frowned and tightened his hold. Just as Hisoka was about to wallop the elder shinigami Ryuji was placed on top of his head. The gesture and the look in Tsuzuki's eyes told him what the gesture meant. A pink tinge came to his face and he looked down, refusing to meet the amethyst eyes. "_Ryuji's . . . sad . . . he thinks . . . he's not sure how to describe it._"

"Why would Ryuji be sad?" Tsuzuki's head tilted to the side and his eyes searched his partner for any answer. The angle that Hisoka had his head tilted at forced him to make eye contact with the animal sitting on his head. Hisoka's head dipped lower.

"_Motoko's shields slipped and Ryuji was forced to see just about her entire life. He's not sure how he feels right now._" Tsuzuki pushed Hisoka back gently and removed one arm from around his partner. That hand reached under his chin and gently eased his head back up so he was staring into the amethyst eyes of the elder man. "_Tsuzuki?_" There was a serious look there that just looked wrong when it came to the man.

"So you know then?" Hisoka gave him a slightly confused look and tried to pull his head away. Tsuzuki wouldn't allow it. "You know that she's related to you then?" This froze Hisoka in his tracks and he just nodded lightly. He tried to look down at the sheets, but the hand on his chin kept their eyes locked. "It took her a while. She swore it was just a coincidence or something that's why when you first met she asked about your mother's maiden name. After you didn't tell her she went to visit your family since she had missed out on her earlier visit. That was when she knew you were him."

"_Why . . . why didn't she say anything?_" Hisoka asked as he pulled his face away. His eyes traveled over to the girl on the bed next to them. Watari was fussing over some things. Tsuzuki gently pulled his face back over and looked him in the eye.

"She wasn't sure you were ready to know. It would have changed a lot of things and probably brought up some painful memories for the both of you. She thought it would be better just for you two to be partners." The elder shinigami gave him a small smile. "She figured there was nothing to gain from telling you, but you probably wouldn't trust her the same anymore."

"_That's stupid._" Hisoka looked down at the bed and Tsuzuki let him. He carefully brought the empath back into a comforting hug.

"She was terrified that you'd project what happened to you to her and she couldn't bear that." Hisoka looked up to protest, but Tsuzuki shook his head lightly. "I know you wouldn't do that, but she didn't. She was paranoid since she knew some about what it felt like." He set his head on top of Ryuji and pulled Hisoka closer to him. "She really wanted to try to make up for what happened to you."

"_That's stupid. Why would she want to do that? It wasn't her fault. She didn't do anything._" Hisoka pushed lightly against Tsuzuki's chest to try to escape the hold, but the elder shinigami simply held on a bit tighter. He stopped struggling this time and felt himself relax a little.

"She thought she should have tried to stop it. Don't argue with me about it." Tsuzuki said before Hisoka could argue. "It's just what she thought. When she visited you she would always call me the next day and talk with me about all of this. She felt horrible that she couldn't do anything to help you."

"_I know she couldn't do anything. It's not her fault. I know that._" Tsuzuki gently rubbed Hisoka's back lightly to comfort him. "_It's not your fault either so don't even start down that path._" Tsuzuki chuckled a little at how easily Hisoka read him. "_I'm an empath and with this link your emotions come through much easier now. That and this does count as physical contact._" The mental voice sounded as close to laughter as Hisoka's could. Tsuzuki smiled and gently squeezed his partner.

"Right. I forgot." There was silence as Tsuzuki held his partner and they both just sat there. It wasn't strained or uncomfortable. Tsuzuki thought about how hard it was going to be for Hisoka to live without his voice. After a few minutes he made a decision. "You should come live with me, Hisoka." Hisoka pushed back from Tsuzuki rather violently with a look of complete shock. "Before you completely flip out listen to me.

"You can't talk, which means that you can't answer the phone. It also means that you can't tell people things when the come to the door. If you didn't live with someone then it could be really hard. Since you linked like this with me it would be easier to live. Then you wouldn't have to worry about little annoying things like the phone." Tsuzuki put a finger to his temple to signify that he had been thinking about it. "Moving in with anyone else would be really hard especially without this link."

"_Idiot._" Tsuzuki practically jumped up off of the bed. The slight emotional leak he got from Hisoka and that one word had told him that Hisoka was agreeing to his plan. He almost didn't believe it. "_Idiot. It makes sense._" His face was slightly pink as he agreed. Tsuzuki pulled his partner up into a hug, knocking Ryuji off of his partner's head. "_Watch it._" The sound came from the empath so suddenly that Tsuzuki jumped. He noticed the kitten lying on the bed behind his partner and a soft smile came to his face.

"Ryuji's gonna have to come with us. Is he okay with it?" Tsuzuki asked as he reached for the toy and set it between them. Hisoka looked down at the cat, back up at Tsuzuki then back down at the kitten again. There was a slight pink tinge to his face as he spoke.

"_Ryuji's . . . he's happy. He was worried about how things would work out and whether or not he could really live on his own with everything that's happened. He's also happy that . . . that . . ._" The empath's face changed from pink to red and his hands fisted in Tsuzuki's shirt. "_He's really happy that he'll get to stay with you._" His face became even darker and the mental voice sounded much smaller as he added "_ . . . I am too . . ._" Tsuzuki pulled his partner back into a hug and set his chin on top of his blond head.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Hisoka. There's no one I would want to be with more than you . . . and Ryuji." He added to keep the embarrassment from forcing Hioska away from him. "I'm glad you'll stay with me. I really am." He brushed his hand lightly through the empath's hair as he held him close. As they sat there he listened to Hioska's breath, feeling it brush lightly against his neck as he held him. He couldn't think of a time he was more content and he never wanted it to end. A small smile came to his lips and he resisted the urge to place a small kiss on the top of his partner's head. It would have scared him away.

"_Idiot._" The sound came as Hisoka shifted, easing himself closer to his partner and bringing his arms gently around his waist. His movement startled Tsuzuki, but he resisted the urge to pull back and meet his partner's gaze. Hisoka was opening up more and Tsuzuki didn't want to do anything that might push him away again. He let out a content sigh and pressed his cheek into his head. Nothing could ruin this moment.

"Bon! Tsuzuki!" Watari rushed in and his sudden appearance startled Hisoka. He pushed himself free of Tsuzuki with a bright red face. Tsuzuki was ready to curse the scientist and turned around to glare when he noticed the worried look on his face. "We may have a problem." His eyes drifted over to Motoko's bed. As if on cue the girl began to squirm and looked to be waking up. Her bright blue eyes opened as she took in her surroundings. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and looked around again.

"Where am I?" She looked scared and frightened, especially when she looked over at the three of them. "Who are you? What am I doing here?" Tears threatened to fall as she moved back on the bed. "I . . ." She turned to look at them. "Who am I?

Again, I apologize for the lateness of this update. I really didn't mean to take so long.

Tatsumi::adjusts glasses: You apologize too much for your own good.

K: I know . . . :kicks invisible rock: I've been told that, but I can't help it . . .

Tsuzuki: It's a hard habit to kick, isn't it::pats head:

K: You understand, don't you, Tsuzuki-nii::looks hopeful:

Tsuzuki: Yes. :nods head:

Hisoka: . . . :glares:

Tsuzuki::nervous smile: Hisoka says we're both idiots.

K::looks down: I know . . .

Tatsumi::adjusts glasses:

K: CLIFF HANGER::smiles nervously: I won't leave you hanging for too long.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19! Wow, I never thought I'd get this far with this fic. I'm so happy! No, this isn't the end, but be proud of me. This chapter's 4 pages long. One page longer than my other chapters :happy dance: On with the fic!

Tsuzuki, Hisoka, and Watari all stared at the girl. She had moved as far away as she could from them and claimed not to know anything about herself or them. Tears welled up in the corner of her eyes as she looked at the three men in front of her. "Who am I? I don't know who I am." The tears fell then. She curled up into a ball and began sobbing. Watari sighed and slumped down in a chair.

"I had a feeling this might happen." Tsuzuki and Hisoka both looked over at the scientist. "What she did to Muraki couldn't be done without some sort of affect on her. I think the rebound knocked out all of her memories. At least those about people and such." He looked over at Hisoka. "Since you don't seem to be blacking out from the emotional overload, I think her shielding hasn't had any problems." Tsuzuki gently stood from the bed and walked over to Motoko.

"Toko-chan?" He asked in a soft voice, hoping to comfort the girl. "It's all right. We'll do what we can to get your memories back. Will you trust us to do that for you?" He sat down on the edge of her bed, far enough away to keep from scaring her more. Her blue eyes peaked out over her knees the tears still falling. "We're your friends. We want to help you."

"You're my friends? But you're so much older than me. I'm only a little kid and you're all adults." She said in a small voice. Hisoka let out a small sigh. Tsuzuki looked over at him.

"_She isn't going to believe anything we say to her about this. It's too unrealistic and her mind will probably reject the ideas. We'll lose her trust if you mention anything about the truth so quickly._" Tsuzuki nodded his head in agreement. It was a bit hard to believe even though it was true. He turned back to Motoko with a smile on his face.

"Just because we're older doesn't mean we can't be friends." He moved a bit closer to her. "We're going to take good care of you and get back all of your memories. Sound good?" He asked with a huge smile on his face. Motoko sniffled before flinging herself into his arms. Tsuzuki gently pat her back as she gripped tightly at his shirt.

"I think she's attached herself to Tsuzuki." Watari said lightly. "Do you think I can take a look at you, Motoko? I want to make sure you're okay." He said lightly. Tsuzuki pushed her back and looked her in the eye. She had a scared look and pushed closer to Tsuzuki.

"Toko-chan, Watari's a doctor. He just wants to make sure nothing is wrong with you. I'll be right here with you, okay?" While she clutched at his shirt he maneuvered her to be sitting in his lap. If she released her hold and moved her upper body she would be facing Hisoka and Watari. "Toko-chan?"

"_She's scared, Tsuzuki. Give her a break. Just let her calm down before you let Watari get his hands on her. There doesn't seem to be anything that needs urgent care._" Hisoka's emerald eyes met Tsuzuki's briefly before looking down at the girl clutching Tsuzuki's shirt. "_If you want, we can leave and let her calm down first._" Tsuzuki smiled.

"Toko-chan, I bet you're hungry." She girl nodded slightly. "Watari, why don't you go find something for her and Hisoka to eat. I'm sure they're both hungry, especially since they haven't eaten for a while." Watari winked and pranced off. "You're no threat, Hisoka. Watari's just a scary scientist, right Toko-chan?" The girl giggled and nodded her head.

"_You might want to introduce us so that she feels a bit safer. Maybe explain that I'm speaking though your mind._" The sentence came though a bit irritated. Tsuzuki simply beamed at the empath.

"Toko-chan, I bet you're wondering who we are." She nodded and looked up, her hands still fisted in his shirt. "My name's Tsuzuki and over there, is Hisoka." He said pointing to the other bed where Hisoka was sitting up. "Hisoka can't talk so he speaks to me though my mind." The elder shinigami explained pointing to his head.

"Really? Why?" The girl asked, pulling further away from his chest and looking over at Hisoka. Her blue eyes me his green ones and he noticed the genuine curiosity in them. His empathy picked up nothing.

"_Her shields are working as well as ever._" Hisoka pointed out to his partner. Tsuzuki smiled and placed his arms around the girl's shoulders. It was obvious that he was waiting for an explanation to pass on to Motoko. With a sigh, Hisoka began. "_There's an invisible collar around my neck. It makes it so I can't talk. We can't take it off and the person who put it there can't either._" Tsuzuki passed the explanation on and Motoko nodded.

"So how do you talk to Tsuzuki-san?" She asked. "You aren't moving to use sign language and you aren't writing. He said something about speaking through your mind. How do you do that?" Hisoka's hands began to play with the kitten in his lap.

"_I'm an empath. I created a link with Tsuzuki and now we speak through our minds._" Motoko stared at him in awe when Tsuzuki was finished passing on the explanation.

"Really? Can I do that?" Tsuzuki looked over at Hisoka whose hands clenched around Ryuji. His eyes were wide and Tsuzuki was sure he was a bit scared of that. He took over the situation from the empath.

"You could, but Hisoka would overwork himself if he opened a link with more than one person, see?" She nodded a bit sad. "Don't worry about it, Toko-chan. You'll be able to talk with Hisoka soon. We're all gonna learn sign language. You can learn, too."

"Really? I can?" Tsuzuki nodded as the blue eyes looked up at him. "Then I can talk with Hisoka-san as well." She said happily and began swinging her legs as they dangled from the edge of the bed and Tsuzuki's lap.

"When Watari comes back, will you let him take a look at you?" Tsuzuki asked since she seemed to calm down some. She tensed and looked over at Hisoka then back up at Tsuzuki.

"Do I have to?" Tsuzuki chuckled lightly, but nodded his head. "Okay." She gave in, but looked a little bit sad by saying it. Hisoka caught Tsuzuki's eyes and blushed lightly as he sent his thought.

"_Ryuji says that he'll take the two of you two the candy store if you behave._" He clutched the kitten tighter and looked away. The empath couldn't believe he was encouraging his partner's bad habit of eating too many sweets. Ryuji, however, wanted to see Tsuzuki and Motoko happy.

"Really!" He asked suddenly, startling Motoko. She watched as Hisoka nodded his head. Her eyes traveled back to Tsuzuki who looked down at her with bright amethyst eyes. "Ryuji says that if we're good while Watari examines you then he'll take us out to the candy store and get us each something." Motoko sent Tsuzuki a confused look.

"_Idiot. She doesn't know who Ryuji is._" Hisoka sent bitterly and pointed sharply at the kitten in his hands. Motoko seemed to catch the movement and her attention was drawn to the kitten.

"That's Ryuji?" She asked and both Tsuzuki and Hisoka nodded. "He's cute. Is he yours, Hisoka-san?" Her question gained another nod from Hisoka. The girl smiled and jumped up from Tsuzuki's lap. "I like kitties. Can I hold him?" Hisoka handed her the kitten carefully. She hugged the cat and moved into Hisoka's lap. "He's pretty." With that, the girl looked up at Hisoka. "He looks a lot like you, did you know that?" Hisoka looked over at Tsuzuki begging for help, but the elder shinigami was enjoying himself too much to be of any help.

"_Tsuzuki! What am I supposed to do?_" Tsuzuki beamed, but offered no help. Motoko looked up at the empath was a confused look in her eye at the slightly scared look on his face. "_Idiot, help me out here._"

"Hisoka-san? What's wrong?" A small hand reached up and clutched at his shirt. "What are you scared of?" Tsuzuki giggled lightly and stood up. "Tsuzuki-san?" The girl looked over at Tsuzuki. Small tears were forming at the corner of her eyes.

"It's okay, Toko-chan. Hisoka's just not used to this." He walked over and ruffled Hisoka's hair slightly earning a glare from his younger partner. "He's just uncomfortable. It's nothing you did." He said with a smile. The girl let out a sigh of relief and looked back up at Hisoka.

"It's okay Hisoka-san." Her smile brightened just before she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't feel uncomfortable with me. I like you." Hisoka sent a pleading look to Tsuzuki who simply grinned. After a few seconds, in inu-mode, Tsuzuki joined the hug himself.

"Group hug!" He squealed as he held both the empath and the girl. Hisoka's arms were pinned so, once again, he was unable to escape the man's grip. With an irritated sigh he relaxed slightly in the hug.

"Tsuzuki-san, I can't see . . . or breath." Motoko let out a slightly muffled complaint and Tsuzuki quickly released the two of them. Her hair was ruffled and she used her hands to try to fix it, leaving Ryuji in her lap. "You messed up my hair, Tsuzuki-san." She complained and Hisoka smirked.

"I'm sorry, Toko-chan." He gave her an apologetic smile. She smiled in return and finished fixing her hair. "I wonder where Watari got off to. It shouldn't take too long to get something to eat." Amethyst eyes trailed over to the infirmary door with a worried look.

"_Don't worry, Tsuzuki. You sent him away. He probably is giving us more time to calm her down._" He then added more as an afterthought. "_Tatsumi may have caught him as well._" Tsuzuki moved his gaze back to Hisoka, curiosity now filling the amethyst eyes. "_It's nothing, Tsuzuki. Just don't worry about it._"

"You mean the doctor guy?" Motoko asked as she began playing with Ryuji again. "He doesn't have to come back. I'm okay." Hisoka frowned at Tsuzuki.

"_Fix this._" That threw Tsuzuki into another fit of giggles. "_Tsuzuki. I'm warning you. If you don't do something now I am going to burn all of the sweets in your house the minute we get home._" The empath warned with the iciest glare he could muster. Tsuzuki's giggle fit stopped suddenly as he shuddered under the glare.

"Toko-chan, Watari just wants to make sure you're okay. You were out for a while and now you don't remember anything. Hisoka and I won't let anything bad happen to you." The girl shook her head and moved a bit closer to Hisoka who involuntarily backed up a bit.

"But I told you I'm fine. Plus, he's scary." She backed up again and Hisoka had nowhere to go. He sent a slightly panicked look to Tsuzuki, but he was too busy trying to get Motoko to trust Watari.

"Watari's a friend. I know he's scary sometimes, but he would never hurt you. Do you trust me and Hisoka?" The girl nodded looking at both Tsuzuki and Hisoka. "Well, Watari is a friend of ours. If we stay here with you while he looks at you will you let him?" Motoko hesitated as she considered the idea. Hisoka rolled his eyes.

"_Ryuji said that he would take the two of you to a candy store if you behaved through Watari's examination._" Tsuzuki blinked and flashed Hisoka a smile.

"Right. I forgot." He apologized before looking at the girl. "We both forgot, but Ryuji says that he'll take us to a candy store if we behave and let Watari take a look at you. What do you say?" The girl looked down at the kitten in her arms. "He speaks through Hisoka and he's got the money to buy us something."

"Okay, but you have to let Watari-san look at you as well." She said looking at Tsuzuki. He looked up at Hisoka with a small smile before looking back at the girl.

"Actually, he has to look at Hisoka before we can go. If he looks at Hisoka first will you let him look at you?" The girl looked up at Hisoka then nodded her head. "Good girl." He ruffled her hair.

"Tsuzuki-san! You messed up my hair again." She cried and tried to fix it again. "Why do you always do that?" The pout on her face was adorable and Tsuzuki was tempted to ruffle her hair again.

"But you're just so cute. I can't help it. Ask Hisoka. It's a bad habit of mine." He said with a smirk. The girl looked up at Hisoka who nodded.

"_That and trying to force feed me._" The comment caused the elder shinigami to snicker. "_What's so funny? You're not behaving. If you don't Ryuji won't buy you anything at the store and he knows you're broke._" That stopped Tsuzuki's snickering. It also triggered his inu-mode and he immediately glomped his partner, grabbing Motoko in the process.

"I'll behave! I promise. Ryuji has to buy me something and it's not my fault I'm broke." The girl between them was obviously confused and stared at the two. The empath rolled his eyes and pointed to his head. Motoko nodded her head and looked up at Tsuzuki who was whimpering. "Please, Hisoka."

"_Idiot. Ryuji says he'll still pay for it, but only because he's in a good mood today._" His face was still a bit pink as he spoke though the smirk proved he was a bit more comfortable speaking through the stuffed animal. Tsuzuki smiled, glomped them again, then picked up the kitten and placed it on Hisoka's head.

"That's where Ryuji sits, Toko-chan." The girl nodded and giggled. Hisoka rolled his eyes again and Tsuzuki just smiled. "Watari needs to get here soon. I wanna go home and help Hisoka pack up." Motoko looked up at him, confusion written all over her face. "See, since Hisoka can't talk and I'm the only one that can 'hear' him he's gonna live with me." Tsuzuki beamed and giggled like a high school girl. This disturbed both Hisoka and Motoko who decide that it was time to ignore the man.

Things seem to be working out . . . then of course I realized that I left poor Watari and Tatsumi after a fight. :pouts: I must rectify the situation. :rushes off:

Tsuzuki: She's a bit scary sometimes . . .

Hisoka: . . .

Tsuzki: Well . . .

Motoko: What did Hisoka-san say::tugs at sleeve:

Tsuzuki: He said "what do you mean by sometimes"

Motoko: Oh. That wasn't very nice, Hisoka-san.

Hisoka: . . . v.v

Tsuzuki: He said "she's put me through enough heck. I'm allowed to be mean."

Motoko: What's with the brackets::points to heck:

Tsuzuki: Hisoka's language is not suitable for children. :nervous smile:

Hisoka: . . .

Tsuzuki: Yeah, but she doesn't know that.

Tatsumi: Back to work, all of you::glares at K: You, too::narrows eyes:

K::comes out of hiding: Okay . . . :pouts:


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20! I put this out real quick, didn't I::seeks praise: It's short, but it's Watari and Tatsumi. :nervous smile: On with the fic!

Watari closed the door to the infirmary with a small sigh. He had had a feeling something like this might happen especially after hearing about what happened to Muraki. The research he had done had told him that much. "Might as well take my time. Bon and Tsuzuki will make her feel comfortable." With that thought he made his way to the break room.

As he came up to Tatsumi's office door he slowed. He hadn't emerged since their fight and it was beginning to worry Watari. Usually, Tatsumi would pop out every hour to check and make sure everyone in the office was working. He was still a bit angry with the secretary for not opening up to him, but it was something he was used to and his worry was already beginning to get the better of him. Before he knew it he was knocking on the door.

"Yes?" Watari stiffened slightly at the strained politeness in the voice. This could not end well. The scientist sighed and pushed the door open. "What do you want, Watari-san?" He winced and walked in further, closing the door behind him.

"I was just concerned, Tatsumi-san. You usually surface around this time to make sure we're all working and not destroying the office." He added that last bit to try to mask some of the worry in his voice. Tatsumi narrowed his eyes slightly at the scientist and pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"Watari-san, if you have destroyed some portion of your lab again I'm afraid the expenses will have to be deducted from your paycheck." The secretary answered with the usual sharpness in his voice. Watari jumped back slightly and squeaked.

"Er . . . I really didn't do anything this time. I've been good." He said nervously. "I really was just worried about you." He searched the air for 003, but realized, sadly, that she had stayed behind in the lab when Motoko had woken up. When his eyes returned to the secretary sitting at his desk he found one eyebrow raised in question. "I was searching for 003. I thought she had followed me from the lab." From the look on his face that wasn't the question Tatsumi was asking. "What?" He finally asked, unable to discern the question.

"What would cause you to worry about me, Watari-san?" That was the question. Watari smiled lightly and walked over to the desk. He managed to keep his smile from widening as Tatsumi backed in his chair slightly.

"You haven't been acting right since you spoke with Bon. I'm concerned and not just as the self-proclaimed doctor of Meifu." He said with a huge smile on his face. "You're my friend, Tatsumi-san. When you act strange I know something's wrong and it worries me. Ready to spill it yet?" Tatsumi let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead. From what he knew of the secretary he guessed he wasn't in the mood to fight it out. This either meant that he would spill or he would kick Watari out of his office after severely reducing his pay. Watari was ready for either outcome.

"Watari-san, I really do not have time for this." He explained gesturing lightly to the mountains of Tsuzuki's paperwork. "I have to finish all of this and with Narita-chan and Kurosaki-kun in the infirmary I am left on my own to complete all of this." Tatsumi conveniently left out the part about Hisoka's written message.

"Well, even you need a break every once in a while. You'll kill your eyes if you keep going like this." He waved an arm at the files. "This is too much to complete in a single night. Why don't you come with me to get something for Motoko to eat? We'll go out for dinner after I finish with her examination. My treat." The scientist winked and waited for a response. He received a sigh.

"I really do not have time for this, Watari-san. Along with Tsuzuki's paperwork I must complete the annual budget for the division. I cannot afford to take a break right now." With another sigh, he returned to the file sitting on the desk in front of him. This wouldn't do for Watari. He brought his hand down on the file obscuring the secretary's view of the words. "Watari-san, remove your hand." There was a tone of warning in his voice that scared every member of JuOhChu. For once, Watari ignored the warning.

"Tatsumi-san, you are going to join me for dinner unless you want to find one of my potions in your coffee tomorrow morning." Watari narrowed his eyes over the rims of his glasses. There was a challenge in his eyes as they met Tatsumi's blue ones. They held each other's eyes until Tatsumi let out a sigh. He was too tired to deal with this and he knew the scientist in front of him wouldn't give up. It would save him time just to agree to dinner. "Great! I'll come by here to pick you up after I check on Motoko, Bon, and Tsuzuki." Watari jumped off of the desk with a smile and pranced out of the room.

"I really don't need this right now." Tatsumi said with a sigh as Watari closed the door. The scientist ran off to the break room to grab some sort of treat. This proved harder than he thought. There was nothing there. Apparently, no one had thought to get actual meals. He went off in search of Wakaba. She would be happy to make something for the girl.

I know, I know. It's short, but just trust me on this. I'll try to update soon, but I've got lots of deadlines for school and finals are next week. It may be some time, but then its winter break and I'll have tons of time to work on my fic. :smiles:


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21! Yay! Thank you all for your support. I'll update now, but I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to update. Finals are starting next week and I may not have the free time. We'll see how well it goes as time goes on. On with the fic.

"Where are we going, Tsuzuki-san?" Motoko asked as the three of them walked down the road. She was walking between Hisoka and Tsuzuki holding both of their hands. Ryuji was in Hisoka's coat pocket with its front paws and head sticking out and looking at Motoko.

"We're going to Hisoka's house to help him start packing. Remember when I told you that Hisoka and I are living together now?" The girl nodded. "We're going to get some of his stuff and put it in my house." She began swinging her and Tsuzuki's hands.

"Where do I live?" The question almost stopped Tsuzuki in his tracks. He looked over to Hisoka who had also turned to look at Tsuzuki. Motoko looked at the two of them with confusion written all over her face.

"_She can't live alone and it's not like she's trusting anyone else other than the two of us._" Tsuzuki gave him a grateful look before looking down at the girl. She looked a bit confused and sad. He gave her a comforting smile.

"You can stay with us, too." She squealed and hugged Tsuzuki. Tsuzuki smiled up at the empath who was now watching the two of them with a ghost of a smile on his face. "I think we did something right." Hisoka rolled his eyes and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"_Idiot. Hurry up, It's going to take some time and we are going to have to get some of her things from her house as well._" Tsuzuki picked up the girl and settled her on his left hip and took Hisoka's hand.

"Then we'll have to hurry up, right?" Motoko giggled and put her arms around Tsuzuki's neck. "So, we're going to get things from Hisoka's and then go by your house to get your things. Is that all right with you?"

"Okay! When are we going to the candy store?" She looked over at Hisoka to ask the question. Tsuzuki looked at the empath as well. He rolled his eyes and let out a sigh.

"_Once we unpack our things we can go to the candy store._" Tsuzuki passed the message along to Motoko who smiled. They came up to Hisoka's house and the empath searched his pockets for his key. Once they were inside he pointed over to the television. "_The two of you can watch some television while I pack_." With that, he walked into his bedroom. Tsuzuki set Motoko down on the couch and handed her the remote.

"Watch some television, okay? I'm going to go help Hisoka." She nodded and turned on the television. Tsuzuki ruffled her hair with a smile and walked out of the room as she complained. He poked his head into the bedroom and watched Hisoka pull out a suitcase. "Let me help, Hisoka. It'll take less time if we work together. What can I do?" Hisoka looked up and sighed.

"_There's a box in the closet over there._" He pointed to the left side of the closet. "_You can start putting the books from that shelf in it._" Tsuzuki looked over at the shelf he pointed to. With that, he walked over to the closet and pulled out the cardboard box.

"Why is there a box in here?" The elder shinigami asked as he brought the box over to the shelf. Hisoka walked over to the closet and began pulling out some of the cloths.

"_Every so often I take some of my books over to a second-hand book store. I keep a box here so they are easier to carry._" The empath explained as he began folding the cloths. "_How are we going to get all of this to your house? Motoko would probably freak out if we teleported and I think that's the only way we are going to be able to do it._" Tsuzuki smiled, placing a pile of books into the box.

"One of us can teleport things there while the other stays here with Toko-chan. I can carry the heavy stuff like your bookshelf and books." The elder shinigami beamed and looked back over at the shelf. Hisoka sighed and continued folding his cloths. "You're so adorable, 'Soka-chan." The comment came out before Tsuzuki had even realized it.

"_What exactly was that for?_" Tsuzuki looked over and found Hisoka staring at him with his arms crossed in front of his chest. The empath's emerald eyes were narrowed and staring directly into Tsuzuki's amethyst ones. Tsuzuki beamed and stood up.

"Well, you are. You act like you have no idea how to take care of children and yet you're the one telling me when I'm doing things wrong and thinking of the things I wouldn't think of. It's so adorable." Hisoka huffed and returned to the clothing on the bed. "Don't be like that 'Soka-chan." He pouted and snuck up behind Hisoka and wrapped his arms around the empath's shoulders.

"_Tsuzuki! What do you think you are doing!_" Hisoka tried to break free, but Tsuzuki only held on tighter. He set his head on top of the blond's and looked at him through the mirror across the bed from them. "_Tsuzuki!_"

"What? You are to cute. I just couldn't help myself." Tsuzuki beamed as he saw the blush spread across Hisoka's face. "Besides, with all you've been through so much today that you need a hug." Hisoka's eyes narrowed slightly as he met Tsuzuki's through the mirror.

"_You gave me a hug earlier._" The elder shinigami smiled and his arms tightened. He moved his head down to rest on Hisoka's shoulder. "_Tsuzuki? What are you doing?_" He was a bit nervous from the emotions he was getting from Tsuzuki. There was happiness, determination, and a bit of anxiousness.

"You know I _really_ care about you, right?" Hisoka quirked an eyebrow and looked over at Tsuzuki. "You have to know. You're an empath." He explained avoiding the emerald eyes looking at him.

"_What in the world are you talking about, idiot? I've told you a thousand times that your shields are stronger than most. I get your surface emotions, but anything deeper than that I have no idea._" Tsuzuki winced slightly and forced himself to meet the empath's eyes. When they met he pulled down his shields slightly and let his emotions flow into the empath.

"Do you see it now?" He asked with a hint of worry in his voice. Tsuzuki was happy with the way they were now, but he wanted Hisoka to understand just how important he was to him. He wanted everything out in the open. "Hisoka?"

"_Idiot._" The elder shinigami winced and looked at Hisoka again. "_You're just an idiot._" Before he had a chance to process the information the empath turned in his arms and brought his arms around his neck.

"Hisoka?" Tsuzuki placed his hands on Hisoka's shoulders and pushed him back lightly. "What are you trying to say?" He asked looking into those hypnotic emerald eyes. Instead of a response, Tsuzuki felt emotions being pushed through the link. He beamed and wrapped his arms around Hisoka pulling him closer. After a few minutes of holding each other Hisoka pushed back.

"_Idiot. We should be packing. After this we have to go by Motoko's and get her things as well._" Tsuzuki pouted, but kissed the empath's cheek and returned to the bookshelf. Hisoka's face turned bright red as he turned back to his clothing.

"I'm finished with this bookshelf. I'm going to teleport this stuff home, will you check on Motoko?" Tsuzuki asked turning around to face Hisoka. The empath was closing up the suitcase and turned to face him.

"_Sure. Take a few trips so you don't overwork yourself. If you would, take this too._" He pulled the suitcase down on the floor. Tsuzuki nodded and walked over. He kissed the top of his head before grabbing the suitcase and disappearing. "_He always disappears before dealing with the consequences._" With a shake of his head he walked into the living room. Motoko was sitting on the couch watching a cartoon she had found on the television. He walked over next to her and moved into her peripheral vision.

"Hello, Hisoka-san! How is the packing going?" Hisoka shrugged and the girl nodded accepting his answer. He motioned like he was drinking from a glass to ask her if she wanted something to drink. "Do you have chocolate milk?" She asked with a slightly hopeful look. He held up a finger and moved into the kitchen.

"_Didn't Tsuzuki leave some chocolate syrup here after he wanted a Sunday?_" He asked himself going into his refrigerator. The chocolate syrup was sitting on the top shelf and the milk was in the door. He grabbed them both and closed the door.

"Hisoka-san? Where's Tsuzuki-san?" Motoko came into the kitchen with a worried look on her face. The empath set the milk and syrup on the counter and grabbed a paper and pencil where he usually wrote his grocery list and scribbled down a note.

"**_He went to take some of my things to his house. He should be back soon._**" He handed her the note and reached to get two glasses. One would be for Motoko's chocolate milk and the other was for his own glass of milk. He'd ask Tsuzuki if he wanted something when he got back. While he was preparing the chocolate milk the girl tugged at the corner of his shirt.

"Are you and Tsuzuki-san dating?" She asked with wide curious eyes. The empath coughed a bit and blinked a few times. He thought about it and shrugged. He wasn't exactly sure where they were since he never had any experience with the customs of dating. After that he returned to making her chocolate milk. Once he finished it he picked up the glass and handed it to her. She giggled and took a sip. "Thank you, Hisoka-san!" Taking the glass with her, she went over to the table and sat down in a chair. Hisoka joined her with his own glass of milk. He brought the pad of paper and pencil with him.

"**_You really don't remember anything about yourself?_**" Once he wrote the message down he passed the paper to the girl. She looked at it with a sad smile and nodded her head. "**_Is there anything that you do remember?_**" After reading the question she considered it for a few minutes.

"Well, I know that I'm a telepath and I remember things about how to shield off my powers. That's about it." Her voice sounded a bit lots and she took another sip of her chocolate milk. "Is that okay, Hisoka-san?" He nodded.

"Toko-chan? Hisoka? Where are you two?" Tsuzuki's voice came from the living room. Motoko squeaked in surprise and scrambled out of the chair. When Tsuzuki came through the doorway she launched herself at the elder shinigami.

"Welcome back! Are you and Hisoka-san dating?" Tsuzuki was shocked by more than just her sudden attack, but at her random question. He looked over at Hisoka and met his eyes. The empath waited for the answer as well. Tsuzuki smiled and nodded his head.

"Yeah, we are." He said and Motoko giggled. Tsuzuki picked her up and set her in the chair next to the chocolate milk. "I put your books and bookshelf in my bed room. I hope you don't mind, but I only have two bedrooms and Toko-chan needs her own room. We can bring your bed over and put it in my room. It's big enough . . . I think." Hisoka shrugged and took a sip of his milk.

"_Whatever, idiot. You're the one who invited the two of us to stay at your place._" Tsuzuki beamed and raided the empath's refrigerator. He came back to sit at the table with a bottle of juice. "_We should get back to packing. There's a lot to do and we still have to go to Motoko's_." Hisoka said standing up.

"Mou, I just got back. Can't we rest a bit? Toko-chan's house isn't really big." Motoko looked up at the two with a confused look and Tsuzuki passed on Hisoka's comment. She thought for a second and jumped up from her seat.

"We don't have to go to my place today. Besides, Ryuji promised we could go to the candy store and I wanna watch a movie with the two of you." The girl said with a small smile. "Please, Hisoka-san." She begged, tugging lightly at the bottom of his shirt. Tsuzki joined in the begging and brought his arms around Hisoka's shoulders.

"Please, 'Soka-chan." The empath sighed and gave in to the two of them. "Yay! Let's hurry up and pack! Toko-chan, can you help put Hisoka's books in a box?" The girl nodded and hugged Hisoka's leg. The three of them left the kitchen intent on packing up all of Hisoka's things.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22! Wah! I apologize for taking sooo long, but finals and then I haven't had time for any writing whatsoever. :cries: Please please please forgive me!

"Now that they're off it's time for dinner." Watari announced as he threw the door to Tatsumi's office open. The secretary was still seated at his desk pouring over one of Tsuzuki's long overdue files. He looked up as the door was thrown open before returning back to his work.

"I don't have time for this right now. There are mountains of paperwork to go through not to mention the work I have to do on the budget request." His eyes darted across the page deciphering the chicken scratch Tsuzuki called handwriting. Watari frowned and stomped over to the desk.

"You are _not_ doing this. Get your stuffy butt up out of that chair and come to dinner with me." The scientist pulled the file up from the desk and closed it before staring down at the secretary with his hands on his hips. "I swear, Tatsumi, if you don't come with me you will find one of my rather entertaining experiments in your coffee tomorrow morning." The two started a staring contest. Neither was sure exactly how long it had lasted before Tatsumi let out a tired sigh and massaged his temples.

"I _really_ do not have time for this. Fine, I will go to dinner with you, but that is it. I have to get this stuff done." He pushed himself up from his chair and stood in front of the scientist. Watari smiled lightly and placed the file back down on the desk.

"That's fine, but you need a break. You're going to kill your eyesight from Tsuzuki's handwriting." His voice was a bit strained as he led the secretary to the door. "I know of a small rather inexpensive place that has the best food. It shouldn't take too long, but you'll get a good meal and the atmosphere is a bit relaxing." He explained as they walked out of the building. Their walk to the restaurant was uncomfortable and full of Watari's inane chatter. Tatsumi was ready to strangle the scientist just as he announced their arrival.

The restaurant was indeed small, but it had a comfortable atmosphere of a home. A young woman asked whether they wanted to sit in the smoking or non-smoking section. "Non-smoking, please." Watari said with a smile. The hostess returned it and led them to a table. Once they were seated she handed them each a menu and told them their server should be with them soon.

Silence befell them again as they each searched the menu for something to eat. Watari was growing frustrated with Tatsumi's mood and made the decision that, no matter what harm came to him, he would discover what had caused it. Once their orders were taken Watari turned his gaze to the man sitting across from him. Outwardly, Tatsumi gave no reaction, but inwardly the secretary was a bit unnerved by the look in the man's eye.

"Watari-san, what exactly are you trying to do?" He asked in an irritated voice as he adjusted his glasses. The scientist's eyes narrowed slightly before they softened and he let out a frustrated sigh.

"You just keep everything in, don't you?" Tatsumi raised an eyebrow as Watari removed his glasses and held the bridge of his nose. "Look, I know something's bothering you and while you may want to just forget about it, I won't accept that." He removed his hand and turned his eyes to Tatsumi. "I am not talking to the secretary of Meifu right now." His eyes softened slightly. "We're not here as coworkers, Tatsumi. We are here as friends. I'm worried about you." Tatsumi was a bit taken back and turned to clean his glasses.

"Watari-san, there is nothing wrong with me. I just have a rather large amount of work that I must complete." He looked up from his glasses when Watari let out a frustrated groan. The blond pinched the bridge of his nose again.

"Why is it that you are always shutting people out like this? Something is bothering you and has been since you spoke with Bon and Tsuzuki. Deny it again and I swear . . ." He left the threat hanging as his gaze returned to the man across the table. Tatsumi's thoughts traveled to the note Hisoka had written him before he had left the infirmary.

"_Just tell him? Exactly how am I supposed to do that? Is it that obvious?_" Tatsumi placed his glasses back on his face and, as Watari had done earlier, pinched the bridge of his nose. "_Does he even understand what that would bring about?_" Before he could suppress it a sigh escaped his lips. Watari took this as a good sign and waited for some sort of answer. When he opened his eyes and met Watari's he made his decision.

"Watari-san, about earlier . . ." He took a deep breath and swallowed a small portion of his pride. "I apologize for my rude behavior earlier." The secretary closed his eyes and bowed his head to the scientists. "I did not mean to shut you out like that, but I needed some time to myself to sort out some of my thoughts." Watari blinked for a few seconds then reached over and set his hand on Tatsumi's.

"It's all right, Seiichiro." Tatsumi's shoulders relaxed slightly with the use of his given name. "I understand, but I'm still worried. You don't seem to have actually spent time thinking about anything. You were working the entire time."

"Such things do not take too much of my brain to work through, Watari-san. I was quite able to think while working. It is also a better management of my time." Silently, he admonished himself for getting off task. This was going to be harder than he thought. "I would like to try to explain some of my behavior to you." The hand touching his twitched slightly and Tatsumi looked up to see a genuinely happy smile on the scientists face. "Watari-san?"

"You're opening up to me. It just makes me very happy. Go on, Seiichiro. I apologize for interrupting your thoughts." He gripped the hand lightly, encouraging him to go on with his explanation. Tatsumi took another deep breath. There was a brief silence as he searched for the words he needed to say. Watari waited patiently his hand still on Tatsumi's.

"As I you know I was speaking with Kurosaki-kun and Tsuzuki about the situation with the doctor. When Tsuzuki came back and I had finished explaining everything I left. Kurosaki-kun, however, wrote me a final note before I left." He pulled his hand back from Watari's and reached into his suit jacket to retrieve the note. After taking one last look at it he handed it over to Watari. The scientist pulled back on his glasses and read the note.

"This is what has been bothering you?" He looked up from the note and sent a questioning look to Tatsumi. The secretary raised an eyebrow and Watari smiled. "You really should have just mentioned this to me, Seiichiro. I could have saved you a lot of time." Watari handed the note back to the secretary and took his hand again. "I could have saved you a hell of a lot of brooding."

"Watari-san?" The scientist held a finger up to his own lips and signaled for him to be quiet. He removed the finger and grinned placing his hand on the secretary's once again.

"I'll save you the shame of having to confess like a high school girl, it just doesn't suit you, Seiichiro." He smiled and added the next statement with a wink. "However, it's not above me." Tatsumi moved back a bit and felt the hand on top of his grip a bit tighter. "I've been watching you for a long time, Seiichiro. There are so many amazing qualities in you and I was hoping that you would do me the honor of dating me." Tatsumi closed his eyes and let a ghost of a smile come across his face.

"If you insist, Watari-san." He winced as the scientist squealed with delight and the hand gripped his painfully. A hand appeared in front of his face and startled him. He reared back slightly and found that Watari was leaning over the table.

"While we're like this call me by my given name. If you want we can keep this from the office and act like nothing is different, but like this do me this small favor." Tatsumi nodded his head slightly in agreement and Watari pulled back to his own side of the table. "Now that that's settled, what say we enjoy our first date?" The server came up to take their orders.

I patched things up with Tatsumi-san and Watari! Now my slave driver can't be so mad at me. :nervous smile:

Tatsumi::adjusts glasses: K-san, you still have work to do.

Watari: Oh take it easy on her, Seiichiro! She's worked really hard lately.

Tatsumi::narrows eyes:

Watari: Sorry, K-chan, I tried. :shrugs:

K: It's okay, Wartari. :tears:


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23! Wow! I've never expected this fic to go so far. Thank you to all that have supported me and kept me going. I'm rambling on like this is the end, but it's not. :smiles: Here you go!

"You're finally settled in, 'Soka-chan!" Tsuzuki wiped his brow as he stood up from in front of the bookshelf. It had taken them all a long time, but they had finally managed to get all of Hisoka's things unpacked and set up in Tsuzuki's house. Motoko had been tasked with helping Tsuzuki place all of the empath's books on the shelves while Hisoka had taken care of the rest of his few items. Once the bookshelves were complete Tsuzuki had asked her to go through their combined collection of movies and pick the one she wanted to watch while he found Hisoka.

"_Right, but Motoko still has nothing of hers. What are we going to do about pajamas and tomorrow's clothing?_" The empath asked in an impatient voice. Tsuzuki smiled and wrapped his arms around his shoulders causing a blush to spread over his face.

"Easy. Toko-chan can wear one of my shirts to bed tonight and we'll wash her cloths so she can wear them tomorrow. After that we'll go get her things from her house and help her settle into our place." The last two words he said with a huge smile on his face and squeezed his partner's shoulders slightly. Hisoka's blush deepened at those words, but he made no resistance.

"Tsuzuki-san! Hisoka-san! Stop making out and let's watch a movie!" Motoko called from the living room. The blush on Hisoka's face deepened and he tried to struggle out of Tsuzuki's arms. Tsuzuki held on, grinning. He led Hisoka out of the bedroom looking at Motoko who was sitting outside of the room with a smile of her own on her face. "I wanna watch Robin Hood!" She announced holding up a copy of the Disney version. Hisoka rolled his eyes.

"_Only you would have a child movie, Tsuzuki._" The elder man smiled and kissed Hisoka's cheek. He then turned to Motoko with a smile on his face.

"You and Hisoka set up the movie and I'll make us some popcorn, 'kay?" The girl beamed and took hold of Hisoka's hand. Tsuzuki kissed the empath's cheek before walking into the kitchen.

"Hurry up, Hisoka-san!" Motoko tugged at this arm. He held up a finger and rushed back into the room. After grabbing a small pad of paper, pencil, and Ryuji he followed the girl into the living room. "Have you ever seen this movie, Hisoka-san?" She asked as she placed the tape in the player.

"_Hasn't Tsuzuki ever heard of a DVD player?_" Hisoka thought with a sigh. The girl climbed up on the couch next to him with the remote in hand. She smiled up at him before climbing up in his lap. He stiffened as she settled bringing his arms up around her.

"Can I stay here to watch the movie, Hisoka-san?" She asked in a small voice. "Tsuzuki-san can sit right here and we can all sit here together!" Her face brightened and she pointed to the seat next to him and looked up at his face. After a bit of panicking he nodded his head softly. She beamed and pulled his arms tighter around her. "I like you, Hisoka-san. You're really nice."

"Awwww. You two bonding?" Tsuzuki came out of the kitchen with a huge bowl of popcorn in his arms. He flopped down Next to Hisoka with a huge smile on his face. 'That's so sweet."

"Hisoka-san said I could watch the movie here and you can sit there and we can all be here together!" Motoko announced happily. "We can be like a family!" She said with a bright smile. Hisoka blushed lightly looking up at Tsuzuki.

"_Family? Is this really what a family is like?_" With the way his family ways he never really understood what family was. Tsuzuki gave him a slightly sad smile and ruffled his hair.

"We're a family, right Toko-chan?" The girl beamed and pulled Hisoka's arms around her tighter again. Tsuzuki brought an arm around the empath's shoulder and pulled him closer. Hisoka's face was bright red. "Since we're a family," he said turning to Motoko, "you don't have to call us '-san', Toko-chan." The girl thought for a second and beamed.

"All right! Then Tsuzuki-san is Tsuzuki-otou and Hisoka-san is Otou-san!" She announced looking up at each for approval. Both were shocked at the names, but soon Tsuzuki's face softened and he smiled. The girl beamed and started the movie. She reached over and picked up a handful of popcorn.

"Tsuzuki-otou don't hog all of the popcorn. I bet Otou-san wanted one as well, don't you?" She asked looking up at Hisoka holding up her small handful of popcorn. "I bet Ryuji wants some, too, doesn't he?"

"_Ryuji and I are fine. We don't really like popcorn._" Tsuzuki passed on the comment to Motoko who nodded her head before turning back to the movie. As her attention shifted, she settled down in Hisoka's lap and began to play with his hands. Hisoka looked up to Tsuzuki for help. "_Tsuzuki . . . what am I supposed to do?_" Tsuzuki smiled and placed his head next to Hisoka's.

"_Don't worry so much, Hisoka. Just watch the movie._" He explained taking a handful of popcorn and shoving the entire thing in his mouth. Hisoka winced at the display before turning his attention to the movie. He regretted that the minute he realized that the characters were actually animals that acted like humans.

"_Only you would have a movie like this._" The thought was sent through the link before he really considered it. Tsuzuki pouted still chewing his popcorn. Motoko giggled at some portion of the movie.

"_Don't be so mean to me, Hisoka. It's a cute movie and Toko-chan seems to be enjoying it. You don't like it?_" Hisoka gave him a look that explained it all and called him an idiot without him having to send the thought. "_Toko-chan seems to be enjoying it so that's a good thing._" Hisoka nodded looking down at the girl. She really did seem to be enjoying herself.

"_Tsuzuki, are you sure we will be able to take care of her properly? I mean . . . neither of us are emotionally stable and right now her mind is that of a seven-year-old. Plus, she's my great aunt._" Motoko seemed to be drifting off to sleep, every so often trying to keep herself awake by shaking her head.

"_She's had a long day._" Tsuzuki sent the thought as the girl began to curl up to Hisoka's chest, her eyes closing slightly, still intent on trying to stay awake. "_We should get her ready for bed._" They watched as her eyes finally closed and her breathing evened out. "You know," Tsuzuki whispered, "this is sort of like a second chance for her. Even when she became a shinigami she really couldn't start over like this before."

"_She really was a bit happy with you around, Tsuzuki._" He explained looking down at her as she slept in his lap. "_You have this strange ability to allow people to forget about their own troubles, if even for a little bit, and feel like life is all right._" The empath looked up at Tsuzuki with a ghost of a smile on his face. Tsuzuki smiled and tightened his arm around Hisoka. Motoko mumbled lightly in her sleep and shifted.

"Let's get her to bed." Tsuzuki said with a smile. He placed the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and picked the girl up from Hisoka's lap. The empath stood up and followed Hisoka into the girl's room. He watched as Tsuzuki put her in her pajamas and into the futon they had set up for her. She opened her eyes lightly and looked up at the two of them with a smile.

"What about the movie?" She asked in a sleepy voice. Tsuzuki smiled lightly and brushed the hair away from her forehead before kissing it lightly.

"We can finish it tomorrow. You need sleep tonight." The girl nodded yawning before she turned to look up at Hisoka. Tsuzuki followed her gaze with a small smile. "_She wants you to say goodnight to her as well, Hisoka_."

"_R-right._" He walked over and stood next to Tsuzuki. "_Good night, Motoko . . ._" His thoughts drifted to the kitten in his hand as Tsuzuki passed on the greeting. "_Ryuji wants to wish you sweet dreams._" As he spoke his face was pink. Tsuzuki smiled and passed that on as well. The girl smiled.

"Good night, Otou-san. Good night, Ryuji." She reached up and hugged Tsuzuki and opened her arms up for Hisoka. After a slight hesitation he sat down on the bed and let her hug him, patting her back lightly with one hand. Tsuzuki beamed at Hisoka as Motoko pulled away. "Sweet dreams, Otou-san, Tsuzuki-otou." She mumbled as she fell asleep.

"You make such a good parent, Hisoka." Tsuzuki said once they had closed the door to her room. Hisoka blushed and looked down at the ground to try to hide it. "Let's get some sleep. You've had a hard day." He looked over at Hisoka and bent down to look in his eyes. "Is Ryuji okay?" The empath looked further down at the ground trying to hide his deepening blush.

"_Yeah. Ryuji's actually pretty happy. He likes staying here with you and Motoko. It feels like the family he never had._" Tsuzuki placed an arm around Hisoka's shoulders and they walked into the bedroom to get ready for bed.

This one was really hard to write. I hope you all forgive me. My life took a sudden turn that threw me into chaos. :bows: I took a long time to update and am giving you crap to make up for it. Please forgive me.


	24. Chapter 24

Sorry it took so long to update. My life has finally turned around and I'll try to get back to updating quicker. I'll apologize now since it's really short too ; :bows: Forgive me?

Hisoka screamed struggling against his attacker. This wasn't like his usual nightmares. No, this was very very different. His hands were trapped above him as the knife dug into his chest. He cried out in pain as it was dragged along a preset path. Just as he felt he would pass out the knife was gone and his shinigami healing powers began to take effect. Once the injuries were healed enough the knife was back.

The empath had no idea how long this had been going on. All he knew was the pain and the familiar laughter. He'd heard it so many times in life, but it wouldn't go away. The white-clad demon couldn't be doing this so how could he hear that laughter? The knife dug in deeper and he cried out in pain.

He shot up from his bed panting for breath tears streaming down his face. As he tried to calm down his eyes widened as he watched the injuries on his stomach heal and the blood-stained sheets. His scream was silent to the ears, but Tsuzuki heard it loud and clear through their empathetic link and bolted up. "Hisoka?! What's . . ." His voice trailed off as he caught sight of the scene before him. Hisoka was huddled over himself his entire body shaking the sheets and blankets were soaked in blood and the empath seemed even paler than usual.

Immediately he scrambled off his bed and walked over to the other. "Hisoka, what happened? Are you all right?" Very carefully he brought his arms around the empath gently rocking him. "Hisoka . . . are you okay? Can . . . can Ryuji tell me what happened?" He panicked when he didn't hear anything from his partner. "Hisoka . . ."

"_I . . . I don't know . . . Tsuzuki . . . I don't know . . ._" Tsuzuki's heart broke hearing the tone in the mental voice. He gently held the empath. "Let's get you some new sheets and pajamas then I'll make you some tea. Okay Soka-chan?" He felt the weak nod into his shoulder. Tsuzuki picked him up and carried him over to his own bed.

Once Tsuzuki had gathered the sheets from the bed and left the room Hisoka pulled off his shirt. He ran a hand along the skin seeing the familiar scars from his death. Nothing seemed off . . . so then where had all that blood come from? The glimpse of the injury from before brought back memories of his nightmare causing him to shiver. He pulled off the stained clothes and grabbed a fresh pair of pajamas. Just as he finished pulling them on Tsuzuki came back into the room.

"I put some of your favorite tea on. Wanna go sit on the couch?" He held out his hand. Hisoka looked up at his partner then grabbed Ryuji from his spot on the nightstand before taking the offered hand. Carefully Tsuzuki led him to the couch and sat Hisoka down. "Do you know what happened?" He asked as he sat down next to the empath and gently set a hand on Hisoka's. There was silence and Tsuzuki bit his lip. "Does . . . does Ryuji know?"

Hisoka's hand tightened around the stuffed cat and he looked down at the floor. "_He . . . he doesn't know . . . h-he was having a nightmare . . . when he woke up . . . it-it was . . . it was like it wasn't a dream . . ._" He shivered trying to fight the urge to curl up. Tsuzuki gently hugged him. "We'll figure this out, Hisoka. I promise."

"_Baka . . . don't make promises you can't keep . . ._" He shivered unable to fight back the urge to curl up any more. Tsuzuki gently pulled Hisoka closer to him and rocked him slightly.

"Otou-san? Tsu-otou?" Motoko walked into the room in one of Tsuzuki's old dress shirts. "W-what's wrong?" The small girl asked biting her lip as she made her way closer to the two on the couch. Tsuzuki gently held Hisoka who refused to look at the girl.

"Otou-san had a nightmare, Toko-chan. Why are you up?" The elder shinigami asked fairly certain he knew the answer. He gently ran a hand through Hisoka's hair. Motoko walked over rubbing her eyes. "I had a nightmare like Otou-san." She said as she crawled up onto the couch next to the two. Tsuzuki kept one arm around Hisoka as he brought the other around Motoko.

They sat there like that for a while until Motoko had fallen asleep and Hisoka's shivers had slowed. "_You don't think she really had . . .?_" Tsuzuki suggested through the link as he didn't want to wake the poor girl up. All he got was a small shrug from his young partner. "_Do you want to try going back to bed?_" Hisoka tensed and Tsuzuki took that as his answer. "_Let's put Toko-chan back to bed then have some tea, all right?_" The empath nodded slowly and moved to stand up.


End file.
